


Party Games

by redlerred7



Category: Lucky Star (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ensemble Cast, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Incest, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Multiple Pairings, POV Multiple, Romance, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:48:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22582774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlerred7/pseuds/redlerred7
Summary: It's summer break and Miyuki invites the Lucky Stars to a week-long slumber party at her summer home in the mountains. Hijinks inevitably ensue. A trashy fun time that eventually leads to multiple lesbian awakenings. Enjoy if you can![Humor, Friendship, Ensemble Cast, Multi-POV]
Comments: 12
Kudos: 16





	1. The First Day, Preparations

**Author's Note:**

> Writing this was a bad idea. I have ten ongoing stories that I'm working on, and this makes eleven. Oh well. Enjoy if you can.

Kagami Hiiragi blinked as the train entered a tunnel, the sudden darkness knocking her out of her daze. How long had she been staring blankly out of the window? She couldn't remember. When the train exited the tunnel a few seconds later, she rubbed her eyes and looked around.

Next to her, Tsukasa had fallen asleep, head lolled forward uncomfortably. It wasn't hard to imagine the neck sores the younger twin would feel once she woke up. Kagami could only wince at the thought.

In the seat directly in front of Kagami sat one Konata Izumi. Her eyes were trained on her DS while bit-crunched music and explosions blared out of the device's tiny speakers. She looked completely focused on what she was playing.

Similarly, Miyuki sat next to Konata, nose buried in a book she had started reading shortly after boarding the train. It had been a monstrously large tome, and yet, she was already most of the way through it.

Across the aisle, Yutaka was also asleep, leaning on Minami's shoulders while Minami looked out of the window. In front of them, Patricia talked animatedly at Hiyori, who was scribbling madly on her sketchbook, only sparing Patricia a word or two in reply.

"Heya, Hiiragi."

Kagami blinked again and looked up at one Misao Kusakabe, peeking from over the seat's backrest.

"How long ya reckon before we get there?"

Kagami put a finger to her chin in thought. "Hmm. It's been around an hour at least. I don't think it'll be that much longer." She turned to the avid reader sitting in front of her. "Hey, Miyuki. How close are we to our destination?"

Kagami hadn't been loud or sudden when she asked that question, but it still caused Miyuki to jump in her seat and fumble with her book. She even nearly dropped it.

Beside her, Konata chuckled. "Deep breaths, Miyuki," she said, eyes not leaving her handheld.

Kagami held back a chuckle of her own. "You okay?"

A light blush appeared on Miyuki's cheeks as she cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. "Er… yes. I'm alright. Just a little spooked. In any case, you were asking how long until we arrive, no?" She looked out of the window and scanned the panning view of the Japanese countryside. "Hmm. Should be just another hour—likely less."

"Sweet," Misao said, dropping out of view behind the back rest again. "Hear that, guys? Only another hour left."

Kagami pursed her lips. Misao was probably talking to Ayano and their respective siblings, wasn't she? Hmm.

"Remind me again why so many of us are going to Miyuki's summer home?"

Konata glanced up from her game to smirk at Kagami. "Because you just can't say 'no' to your friends?"

This earned a flick to the forehead.

"Ow!" The smirk remained on her lips as she put away her DS and pressed a hand over her _'painful' 'injury'_. "Hehe. Look into your heart, Kagamin. No matter how tsun-tsun you are about it, you can't deny that I'm right."

She sent another flick to the forehead. "I'll meet the next quip with a fist. Now don't make me ask again."

Konata whimpered, though the smirk that still remained on her face suggested no regret for her words whatsoever. Not really unexpected, all things considered.

"Well," Miyuki began, adjusting her glasses for the second time in so many minutes. "I believe I invited the three of you during lunch at school, just a few days before summer break started. To my knowledge, it was Minami who invited Miss Kobayakawa, Miss Tamura, and Miss Martin. A day or two later, you asked if Miss Kusakabe and Miss Minegishi were allowed to join."

Kagami nodded slowly. "Oh yeah. Misao started fake crying when she heard about it. Something about getting left behind again? I tried ignoring her but just couldn't put up with it. I eventually caved and invited her and Ayano. They got their siblings to join too."

Kagami noticed that Konata's smirk had widened. Her expression was unbearably smug, eyes narrowed, and head turned upward slightly. There was little else Kagami could do but roll her eyes.

"Okay, what's with that look?"

"Remember what I said about not being able to say no to your friends? I think you just proved my point."

Kagami raised her fist. "Alright, come'ere"

There was immediate fear in Konata's eyes as she cowered into Miyuki's bosom, making the well-endowed bookworm stiffen. "Not the face! I'm too pretty to be brutalized by a tsundere!"

"Oh my god, Konata," Kagami muttered. She rolled her eyes again and lightly tapped Konata on the top of the head with her knuckles.

"Oh, the pain! The agonizing pain!"

This earned a groan. "Stop being so dramatic. People are already staring at us."

"Hit her again!" heckled Misao from behind her. "Harder this time. Make it actually hurt!"

Kagami turned to glare at her. "You're not helping!"

Across the aisle, Patricia heckled as well. "Fight back, Konata! You have the speed to beat her easily! And twin tails make for good handlebars!"

This earned another groan. "Oh, come on. Not you too."

"She's right Kagamin," Konata said shakily, pulling away from a frazzled-looking Miyuki. "Everything has been building up to this moment."

"What are you talking about?"

Konata looked up and stood, pointing a finger toward Kagami's face. It was close enough to boop her on the nose. "Every arc for the past two years has been testing our friendship. With so much rising tension, we were destined to fight on this day!"

"You're still not making sense!"

"This episode will be the climactic battle between best friends and rivals! The very last fight scene before a two year timeskip! Come on, Kagamin, it'll only be exciting if you put your all into it too!"

"Put my all into _what!?"_

"Fight fight fight!" Misao chanted. "Fight fight fight!" Patricia joined.

"Who's fighting?" Tsukasa mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Kick her butt, onee-chan…!" Yutaka half-yawned, half-yelled.

Kagami rubbed her temples. "I feel like I'm getting an aneurysm from this…"

The theatrics kept escalating until a train conductor arrived and broke things up.

The rest of the train ride was spent in silence.

"You know, I've been wondering," Kagami grumbled as she slid her bag from out of the compartment above their seats. "Miyuki, why didn't your mom or Minami's mom reign us in when we started getting rowdy? Aren't they our designated adults for the trip."

Miyuki sighed, taking out Konata's bag, handing it to the shorter girl, before starting to take out her own. "Honestly? I haven't the slightest idea."

"They didn't even take responsibility when the conductor scolded us."

_"No, sir. We have no relation to those children whatsoever," Yukari Takara had said with a completely straight face._

Miyuki winced but made no excuses.

"Maybe they-"

"Zip it, short-stuff," Kagami snapped before Konata could make a quip. "Not in the mood anymore." She disembarked from the train. Tsukasa, Miyuki, and a deflated Konata followed behind her.

Once the gaggle of girls—and the one extremely uncomfortable boy that Ayano and Misao had forced to join them—were out of the station, they all collectively turned to the Takara's and Iwasaki's for directions.

Minami pointed wordlessly to the east, towards the mountains overlooking the station.

"We take a bus to a neighboring town and then walk from there," Miyuki explained, for the majority of them that had no idea what Minami meant by her cryptic pointing. "It shouldn't be any longer than another hour of travel."

The bus ride ended up being a little under twenty minutes long. The road between the two towns was almost completely clear of traffic. That, along with the lack of in-between stops, made the ride surprisingly short. Any city bus covering the same distance would have taken twice as long.

Although, Kagami assumed the twenty minute bus ride meant that the remaining forty minutes would be spent walking. And unfortunately, her assumption had been correct.

When Minami had pointed towards a mountain, she hadn't been kidding. They had to take a relatively steep concrete road that winded up the mountainside. Ten minutes in, Yutaka had been reduced to an exhausted ragdoll. Everyone had to take turns carrying her. Twenty minutes in, their overall pace had slowed to a crawl. By the thirty minute mark, all of them were almost as exhausted as Yutaka, only barely able to walk—except for the Takara's and Iwasaki's, who seemed only mildly winded, and Misao and Konata, neither of whom seemed tired at all. For crying out loud, they've taken the most turns carrying Yutaka out of all of them. Were they even human?

"Maybe you should exercise more, Kagamin~?" Konata teased, sounding more like she was taking a stroll in the park rather than climbing a mountain.

"Yeah," Misao agreed, carrying the near-unconscious Yutaka on her back. "You can build up yer stamina by runnin' every morning. Even just a lap or two around yer block would be enough."

Kagami wheezed. "I'll… _hah…_ keep… _hah…_ I'll keep it in mind… _hah…"_

When they finally arrived at the Takara family summer home, most of the group was completely spent. Minami, Honoka, and Yukari got to work on making sure all of the facilities still worked, while Miyuki ushered the others to their rooms.

Once Kagami got her room that she shared with Tsukasa, she replaced her hot, sweaty, gross clothes with new ones and unceremoniously collapsed into the bed.

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_ **

After Konata changed into a set of fresh clothes, she tucked Yutaka to bed and began unpacking her stuff.

The two manga volumes she'd brought, in case she found her nights sleepless, went on the dresser. She doubted that she'd need them, though—the others would probably keep her busy. The cellphone charger went on the wall socket. She'd make use of it shortly. The snacks she brought would go in the fridge or cupboards. She'd bring them down later. Her Wii? The TV that Miyuki had in the living room was both large, flat, and had enough room between the couch and screen that they could play literally any game in Konata's library. She'd _definitely_ bring the game console down later as well.

Was there anything else in her travel bag that needed to be unpacked?

Toiletries could probably stay packed until she needed them. Clothes could stay packed as well. Anything else?

No? Nothing? Then it was time to move on to Yutaka's luggage.

The very first thing Konata made sure was unpacked and ready to use at a moment's notice was Yutaka's medication. Her pillbox stayed on the nightstand with a bottle of water, as close to the bed as possible. Next to them, she put the stack of unopened pill packets that Yutaka also brought.

Well, that was one thing done. Was there anything else? Konata wasn't really sure what Yutaka had packed. Really, only the medicine needed to be immediately available. Everything else could easily be taken from the suitcase.

There were three distinctly precise knocks on the door. It was like the footstep sounds from an old video game, the exact same sound with evenly spaced intervals.

"Minami?"

The door opened and Minami entered. At a glance, she looked stoic as usual, but seemed absolutely bewildered upon closer inspection. It was hard to explain what it was that gave Konata that impression. Maybe the eyebrows? Yeah, probably the eyebrows. They were curved very slightly upward, in a way that no one could tell unless they already knew Minami.

"How did you know it was me, senpai?"

Konata gave the soft-spoken stoic the sliest smile she could muster. "I heard your footsteps. Heard your heartbeat and breathing too. Even felt the energy in the air around you. It all alerted me to your presence."

Minami blinked, still staring at her, bewildered. Not a word was spoken for a beat… two beats… an entire measure.

Konata sighed, shaking her head. "It was a joke, Minami."

"Oh, I see. It was very fun-"

"Silly kuudere. No need to pretend for my sake." She put one hand on her hip and raised the other, wagging her finger scoldingly at the taller girl. "I can tell when my audience isn't pleased. I'll work on it, alright? I'll get a reaction out of you yet."

Minami blinked again. The bewildered look on her face hadn't changed since she entered the room, but slowly turned back into her resting glare once the air had been cleared. "In any case, senpai, I'm glad you've already set up her medication. Please don't be offended, but I'd like to double check to make sure everything is in order."

Konata snorted. "You realize you're practically her unofficial guardian while we're here, right? Go right ahead, Minami. You don't need my permission."

Minami averted her eyes and reluctantly nodded. She then strode past Konata to check Yutaka's condition. As far as Konata could tell when she checked herself, Yutaka's temperature was normal. Minami probably found similar because she shortly moved to checking the medicine on the nightstand. The girl was certainly meticulous, wasn't she? And she cared deeply for Yutaka.

Konata shook her head and picked up her bags of snacks and the box holding her Wii. "I'm bringing some stuff down. Just call if you need me, okay?" She received a curt glance and another wordless nod. Taking that as her cue to leave, Konata walked out the door and made for the kitchen.

"I see you've raided the fridge," Konata quipped, dropping her snacks onto the kitchen counter.

Misao sat on said counter, eating directly out of a tub of chocolate ice cream that she was cradling near her chest. "Chibi," she said with a fanged frown. "Want some? Spoons're over there." She held the tub forward in offer, also tilting her head pointedly toward the metal basket hanging above the sink.

Konata felt a rueful smile tug at her lips. "What's your angle, Misakichi?" she asked, grabbing a spoon. "I thought you didn't like me or something." With a little jump, she joined the fanged-girl on the counter.

Misao shrugged. "Not like I hate ya," she said, taking a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. "Ahn beshides," she continued with her mouth full. She swallowed. "Hiiragi mentioned ya like chocolate. Not the type ta deny someone the food they like."

"Then what's with all the weird, hostile looks you've been shooting me the past year?" Konata scooped a spoonful of her own, licking the clump. She smirked. "Don't tell me you have feelings for me or something. I can only handle so many tsundere in my life."

Misao snorted. "You _wish."_

"Hmm." The ice cream slowly melted in Konata's mouth as she thought. If it wasn't an aggressively hostile crush, and it wasn't genuine dislike, then what _was_ it? What could have Konata possibly done to earn such lukewarm treatment?

She snapped her fingers. "Is it jealousy, then? You got feelings for Kagami?"

Misao blinked, staring at Konata like a deer in the lights of oncoming traffic. The look lasted for only a heartbeat, before being replaced by the annoyed snarl she'd been wearing earlier. "Wha-wha-what? No! What kinda question is that?"

Konata's yuri senses started tingling. Between that brief look of wide-eyed shock, the shakiness of her voice, and the fact that her reply was so dramatic, Misao showed every stereotypical sign of being in love with Kagami Hiiragi. Like, how else was Konata supposed to interpret that reaction other than gay panic?

Of course, there was no need to force things. Making someone confront what was in their hearts while they weren't ready to accept it yet was bound to lead to a bad end. Still, though. Unacknowledged feelings for a childhood friend? Quite the twist. And here Konata was, assuming Misao simply didn't like her. What an event flag to stumble into.

Konata slapped Misao's shoulder playfully as she scooped another spoonful of ice cream. "Just messing with you, Misakichi. Though I never expected a reaction _that_ flustered. I wish I coulda recorded it. Kinda wanna see it again."

"Oh, of course ya did, ya little…"

As she trailed off, Konata smirked. "What was that?"

Misao grumbled incomprehensibly, before bringing the tub up to her face and shoveling what remained of the ice cream into her mouth. It was licked clean in under a minute. Once she was done, she slammed the tub onto the counter next to her and glared.

Konata could only stare blankly in return, unable to really respond to what she had just witnessed, other than saying, "Wow…"

"Yeah. Wow," Misao agreed before jumping off the counter and stalking off, leaving Konata with the empty ice cream tub and a melting spoonful of ice cream.

"Hmm. Given that dramatic exit, I may have pushed my luck a little with that quip." Konata shrugged, eating the last of the ice cream.

She spent the next few minutes cleaning the small mess of dripped dessert she and Misao had made. After that, she stashed her snacks in the cupboard and set up her Wii under the TV in the living room.

For whatever reason, the wall-mounted flat screen didn't accept component. Wasn't it supposed to be the latest product in high definition television? What self-respecting TV had no component cable ports? Konata was thankful that she'd also brought her converter cables, else she'd have lugged her Wii to the Japanese countryside for nothing.

A muffled _thud_ pulled her attention from her bundle of wires. That sound had come from upstairs, hadn't it? Probably the second floor? Konata quickly navigated out of the living room, climbing up the stairs on all fours. Upon turning the corner at the top step, she entered the hallway leading to all their bedrooms.

Miyuki was sitting on the floor, backed against the wall and rubbing her forehead. Directly in front of her was an open door and a fretful Yukari, repeatedly saying sorry to her daughter. Konata could already deduce what had happened. And considering how clumsy both mother and daughter were, this was probably a regular occurrence.

A few paces down the hall, Patricia and Hiyori peeked curiously out of the door to their room. They both shot Konata quizzical looks, to which she replied with a shrug. They both nodded and warily closed their doors.

Konata approached the Takara's. "Everything alright or do we need to break out the senzu beans?"

This earned a confused glance from Yukari but Miyuki was unperturbed. "I'm fine, Konata. I just walked into a door by accident."

 _Called it,_ a small part of Konata's mind said. She quickly swatted the thought away and offered Miyuki a hand. Yukari did the same. "What were you even doing before you walked into a door?" Konata asked as they both pulled Miyuki to her feet.

The glasses-girl winced. "I was just checking up on everyone," she replied, adjusting her glasses. "The Hiiragi twins, the Minegishi siblings, and Yutaka are all asleep. Miss Kusakabe is taking inventory of the attic with Minami and Honoka. Miss Tamura, Miss Martin, and Mister Kusakabe are still unpacking."

"Thorough," Konata remarked.

"Yes, well… I was just about to check on mother before walking into the door."

"Which I'm deeply sorry for," Yukari repeated. "I didn't know you were behind it when I opened it."

Miyuki half-smiled, half-winced. "It's okay, mother. Please don't worry."

Konata glanced into Miyuki's shared room with Yukari and raised a brow. Surprisingly, they were already settled in, suitcases emptied and their contents likely hidden away where they needed to be.

"Well, you're clearly situated. What's next on the agenda, then?"

Miyuki cupped her chin in thought. "Hmm… Honestly, I just want everyone to get used to the place first. Perhaps in an hour or two, some of us can go into town to do some grocery shopping? I don't imagine the housekeeping was able to fully stock our kitchen before we arrived."

Konata shrugged. "Seemed plenty stocked to me when I checked it earlier."

Miyuki chuckled. "That's exactly what Misao said." She made for the stairs. "However, do keep in mind that we'll be feeding fourteen people for the duration of our stay here."

Konata pursed her lips, nodding slowly. "Huh. You got a point there," she muttered, following Miyuki down.

"While we're on the subject of food, is there anything in particular you'd like for dinner tonight? Perhaps you'd like to help Minami and I in preparing it. I'd ask Tsukasa if she'd like to help as well, but she's currently indisposed."

Another smirk found its way on Konata's face. "Well, I certainly wouldn't mind pitching in. Do you already have something in mind or are you willing to lend me the reins for a bit?"

"I have nothing planned."

"And thus I'm appointed captain of this vessel!"

"Yes. I'll defer to your judgement." There was a miniscule amount of discomfort in Miyuki's voice but she otherwise showed no indication of worry.

Not that she had much to worry about. Konata was a fine cook, not to toot her own horn. Just because she normally went the easy route and just bought convenience store food didn't mean she never learned how to prepare a meal—especially not when her father was such a disaster in the kitchen.

Of course, Miyuki probably didn't know that. Konata would just have to prove herself.

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_ **

Patricia closed the door and stretched. "Wonder what that was about. Did Takara-senpai walk into a door or something?"

Hiyori shrugged, returning to her place in the corner of the room, scribbling in her sketchbook. Beside her was a ruler, an eraser, and a set of colored pencils.

"Hmm." With a huff and short hop, Patricia fell face first onto the bed, letting its soft mattress envelope her upon impact. "You've been working on that for over an hour now. Don't you think enough is enough?"

Hiyori looked up from her work and raised a brow. "What? I only started this just now."

A pout. "Wait, that's a new one?" Patricia crawled to the end of the bed, closer to the manga artist. "You said while we were on the train that I could see what you were drawing once you were done."

Hiyori blinked, her focus slowly pulling back to her sketchbook. "Oh yeah," she muttered absentmindedly. "I _did_ say that, didn't I…?"

"So can I see it now?"

"Yeah." She began drawing again. "When I'm done with this one."

A frown.

Patricia stood and creeped towards Hiyori. Once she was close enough to just about make out what the drawing was supposed to be, she snatched the sketchbook from Hiyori's hands.

"Yoink!"

"Hey!"

A dismissive wave. "Relax, I'm just looking."

On the open page was an unfinished sketch of what seemed to be Konata standing over a Miyuki on the floor. It looked vaguely like that one scene she saw in an anime once. She couldn't remember what it was called. All she knew was that the hero was dumb, that she wanted to cosplay the main heroine, and that its logo had a slash cutting down the middle of it for some reason.

Speaking of slashes down the middle, there was a jagged line across the page, no doubt drawn there because of Patricia's sudden abduction of the sketchbook.

"Oops? I may or may not have ruined it."

Hiyori sighed and leaned back into the wall. "Eh, it's in pencil. I can probably erase it. And if not, two minutes of work shouldn't be too hard to redraw." She stretched, unable to hold back a yawn. "Guh… Go… Gooooaaaaaaaahhh… haaaahhhh… hhhooah… Go… Go ahead and leaf through it. Just give it back when you're done."

Patricia chuckled at Hiyori's yawn, mouth comically agape as she tilted to the side, glasses slowly sliding off her face. When she finished, she looked delightfully disheveled. Misaligned glasses? Squinting, tired eyes? Normally center-parted bangs hanging freely down the middle of her face? It was such a wonderful expression.

Hiyori recovered quickly, readjusting her glasses and tucking her bangs out of her eyes with a quick comb with her fingers. She raised a brow when she noticed Patricia staring. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure which is a more accurate description. That you look like you just _got out_ of bed, or that you need to _go_ to bed."

A pause.

Hiyori removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "The latter," she said with another sigh. "Inspiration hit me late last night and I couldn't stop drawing. By the time it subsided, it was nearly daybreak."

Patricia nodded, understanding. "Like a kid too excited for a field trip the next day."

"Exactly!" Hiyori put her glasses back on and started making wild gestures, whipping her hands around like a madwoman. "I couldn't help but imagining what might happen this week. Like, we're a bunch of teenagers, sleeping under the same roof, with little to no adult supervision. Comedic hijinks? Dramatic fights!? _Sexual encounters!?_ The possibilities are overwhelming!"

Patricia needed most of her willpower not to break into a grin that matched Hiyori's chaotic energy. While she succeeded in reigning in her facial expressions, she couldn't stop the super villain in her head from cackling maniacally.

She hadn't even _thought_ of what Hiyori just told her. Sure, she planned to have fun with her friends—the place had a big-screen TV, a pool, and easy access to good camping spots. And yes, she had some mischief planned—mostly amounting to figuring out people's buttons and how they'd react if she pushed them. But _clearly_ she hadn't been thinking big enough.

"I'm intrigued. Penny for your thoughts?"

Hiyori blinked. "Who is Penny and how does she have anything to do with this?"

A dismissive wave. "It's an English saying. I'm basically asking you to elaborate."

Hiyori fidgeted, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. "Well… I don't know. It's a little embarrassing, talking about _those_ fantasies with someone." She scowled clenching a fist against her lips. "Then again, I've talked with you about my fantasies involving Yutaka and Minami. I suppose they're not much different…"

Patricia tilted her head to the side, giggling quietly to herself. She could already see the ongoing debate within Hiyori's head. The artist's saner side was probably urging her to keep her mouth shut. _Telling Patty anything would only lead to trouble,_ it might've been saying. Then there was the side of her that was overcome with raving madness, demanding that she bear her unholiest of daydreams for the world to see—or at least for Patricia to see—either worked. _Who else are you going to talk about this with?_ it would ask. _Tell her! Do it!_

Hiyori's resolve eventually crumbled. "I guess it's okay," she mumbled, crawling to the suitcase she had dropped at the foot of the bed.

After digging through a week's worth of clothing, she unearthed another sketchbook. Its cover was a different color to the one Patricia was holding. "I drew most of them in here," Hiyori explained.

Patricia backed up and sat down on the bed, shooting Hiyori a sly smile. She patted the bed next to her. "C'mon, then. We can look at it together. Talk me through your thoughts when you drew them."

Hiyori averted her eyes as she sat. By this point, the red that had been creeping into her cheeks since the topic came up had finally reached peak flush. Had any more blood rushed to her face, she'd have turned purple.

"So, you said hijinks, drama, and sex, right? How extreme are we talking?"

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_ **

Minami sneezed into her handkerchief. Strange. The attic was not overly dusty and she did not have a cold. What could have caused that sneeze?

She had also felt a peculiar chill run up her spine, as if a person had just tapped her on the back with cold fingers. It was the kind of sensation that instilled paranoia, since she and Misao were the only people on the floor. They were also halfway across the room from each other.

As illogical as it was, Minami could not help but look around, searching for who had tapped her. She did not expect to find anyone, and her expectations were met. She did not, in fact, find anyone.

This caught Misao's attention, however.

"Heya, Iwasaki. What's wrong? Ya look kinda spooked." She stared at Minami, eyes furrowed and lips pursed in what Minami assumed was worry. Her tone of voice could still be considered casual, however. If her expression was of worry, as Minami assumed, then it was a mild case of it.

Minami shook her head. "It's nothing, senpai. I simply felt an unusual chill when I sneezed."

For a moment, Misao averted her eyes toward the ceiling, raising a brow and pouting. As she did this, she put a finger on her chin humming in thought. "Ya reckon this place is haunted? Got a feelin' it is."

Minami blinked and stared for a moment before slowly shaking her head. It was unfortunate that, of the facial expressions she could muster, none of them could adequately communicate incredulity. "Haunted? I find that unlikely. Statistically speaking, most haunted houses are considered haunted because they are old and ill maintained. Drafts and loose floorboards are the usual suspects for weird sounds at night. Faulty wiring for lights flickering or home appliances shutting off. Mice and other vermin for furniture and shelf items moving on their own."

Misao pouted, shifting her weight. "Well, when ya put it like _that,"_ she muttered. Then her expression unexpectedly turned into a grin. "That was probably the most words I ever heard ya say since we met."

There was a pause as Minami wondered what reaction was appropriate for such an observation. In the end, she blinked and nodded with uncertainty. "I see?"

"You should talk more. Ya seem real smart and have a nice voice."

Once again, all Minami could muster was a blink and nod.

"Anywho, what're we talking about, again? Somethin' about you sneezing and feeling a chill?" Misao snapped her fingers and pointed. "If it isn't a ghost then it's probably someone talking about ya."

Minami slowly shook her head again. "I don't really subscribe to superstitions like that either." Minami returned to digging through the many boxes in the attic. "In any case, Kusakabe-senpai, I'll be helping prepare dinner tonight. I'd prefer to find the camping gear before then."

Misao whimpered but also returned to searching.

Half an hour later, they stacked four bundled-up tents against the wall that separated the lobby from the living room.

Misao huffed and patted dust off her hands, looking over the stack with what seemed to be a satisfied smile. She angled her head and smirked at Minami. "Level with me, Iwasaki. Did we _need_ ta find these tonight, or did ya just wanna get 'em outta the way?"

Minami met her gaze for only a moment before averting her eyes. "The latter," she said, shifting her weight. "We'll be spending five days here, but the first and last of those are travel days. That effectively leaves us with only three full days to actually enjoy our stay here."

Misao snorted. "So ya decided ta save 'em the trouble?"

Minami nodded. "Yes. I'm aware that I only saved them a minor inconvenience but-" She was interrupted by a light punch to her arm, just barely under the threshold of her pain tolerance. She looked back to Misao, tilting her head in question.

Misao returned her quizzical look with the widest smile yet. "No need ta explain, girl. I get'cha."

"I see you've finally found them," Honoka remarked, descending the stairs into the hall. "Good work, you two. I apologise for leaving early."

Minami shook her head. "It's fine, mother. What did Nee-san want?"

Honoka fished her pockets and presented them the keys to the small sedan sitting in the garage. "In a few minutes, I'll be driving Konata and Miyuki into town to go grocery shopping. Is there anything that you want from the store? I'll add it to the list."

Minami shook her head again. "Nothing in particular." She turned to Misao, who shrugged. "S'long as it's food, I'm fine with anythin'."

"Well, I'll start warming up the car. I imagine the engine needs some _breaking-in_ after a few months without use. If you see Konata and Miyuki, tell them I'm already waiting for them."

At that, Honoka walked past them, disappearing behind the stairs.

Minami noticed the confused look on Misao's face and tilted her head slightly, in the opposite direction from before. "Senpai?"

"Is the garage in the basement?" Misao asked, mirroring Minami's slight head tilt.

Minami nodded. "Yes. Please remember that this house is on the side of a mountain."

Misao nodded back slowly. "Oh yeah. Guess that makes sense," she muttered, drifting absentmindedly towards the kitchen. "Ya'know, if you guys had a car all along, why'd ya force us to climb up the mountain ta get here—'specially with Kobayakawa nearly passing out and all?"

Minami blinked, fidgeting. "But… We _didn't_ force you?" She pursed her lips as she tried to deduce what had caused her senpai to come to that conclusion. When she realized the likely reason, she sighed.

"Kusakabe-senpai… were you not told we'd be climbing the mountain?"

Wide-eyed, Misao opened her mouth to speak, but just as quickly closed it. She shook her head.

Minami suppressed a second sigh from escaping her lips. "I thought everyone was complicit with climbing. When I invited them on this trip, I told Yutaka, Patricia, and Hiyori that we might need to climb to get here. I assumed Nee-san told Izumi-senpai, and Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi-senpai as well. Evidently, she did not."

Misao stared for a moment before letting out a bellowing cackle. "Oh, man. Hiiragi wasn't kiddin' when she said Takara was forgetful," she wheezed, doubling over. "Don't know why I'm laughin' so hard. Wasn't even all that funny."

Minami felt a smile tug at the sides of her mouth. "Let it all out, senpai."

Misao's hysterics lasted for a minute longer before she eventually straightened up and rubbed her teary eyes clear.

"Oh… oh man… that was a good laugh…"

"Ooh. Misakichi looks pleased. Something good happen?"

They turned to Konata and Miyuki, entering the hall from the kitchen. Konata's smile was cat-like while Miyuki's looked somewhat concerned. When they made eye contact, Minami nodded reassuringly at Miyuki, who replied with a relieved grimace and nod back. Thankfully, they were knowledgeable enough of each other's tells that the meaning in that wordless exchange was communicated clearly.

As this happened, Patricia descended from upstairs. "Whatever commotion's going on down here, I want in," she exclaimed. She darted her eyes back and forth between Konata and Misao before grinning. "Konata, Kusakabe. Got a minute?"

Konata and Misao shared confused glances but met Patricia at the foot of the stairs. They began whispering among themselves.

The chill that Minami had felt in the attic suddenly returned, but she chose not to react to it this time. Instead, she approached Miyuki.

"Mother said she's warming up the car."

Miyuki smiled, the top of her cheeks rising to hug the bottom of her eyes, giving her face a kind and gentle quality to it. "Thank you for informing me, Minami. Would you like to help Konata and I with grocery shopping?"

Minami shook her head.

"Alright then. Are you still helping with dinner?"

She nodded.

"I see. Well, Konata is helping with dinner as well. She'd like to make curry tonight. Would that be alright with you?"

She nodded again.

"We'll be buying the curry ingredients, among other things, while we're in town. It shouldn't take longer than an hour. Until we're back, would you be a dear and keep watch over the oven? Konata and I were baking some brownies."

She nodded the third time in so many minutes.

Miyuki giggled, reaching up to pat Minami's head. Admittedly, it felt somewhat awkward to receive a pat on the head from someone shorter than her, but Minami would not deny that it nonetheless gave her comfort.

They shared small smiles and a moment of silence before turning to the three still huddled at the foot of the stairs. It was somewhat concerning that they were still whispering to each other. What could they have been talking about?

The two approached the group, Miyuki clearing her throat. _"Ahem,_ girls?" The three stopped whispering and looked at her. "I believe Konata and I have a prior engagement. May I borrow her for an hour while we buy groceries?"

Misao and Patricia snickered. Konata pouted, averting her eyes. "You're just jealous that I have a date with someone so incredibly moé."

Misao raised a brow. "Moé?"

Patricia was unfazed by the unfamiliar terminology—likely because it was not unfamiliar to her. Perhaps it was an anime-related term?

"Go, Konata," Patricia smiled slyly. "We'll update you if we come up with anything."

Konata mirrored the facial expression. "You better." She turned to Miyuki. "Let's go, girl. No time like the present."

With that, she and Miyuki went behind the stairs and descended to the basement.

Minami looked to Patricia and Misao, both of whom were still wearing sly smiles. She tilted her head curiously at them.

Noticing Minami's stare, Patricia started back up the stairs. "I'm heading back to my room." Misao parroted this statement, following behind Patricia.

Another chill ran across Minami's spine as she watched the two climb to the floor above, out of view. She had told Misao that she did not believe in the superstition about sneezing—how it meant that someone was talking about her. Nothing in the past thirty minutes had made her change her mind. However, the sensations she felt while simply wondering what they'd been talking about gave her the impression that… they were planning something… Something that involved her… Something she was not sure she _wanted_ to be involved in…

She shook her head and made for the kitchen. There would be time for speculation while watching the oven. Hopefully, Miyuki had remembered to set a timer.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Beta read by Trilicon, nonevah, and PastelRaccoon_
> 
> The premise of this story is loosely based on Zokushou's now deleted _Truth or Dare_ series. Sadly, I don't remember ToD well enough to outright copy specific dares or questions from it so you'll be stuck with what I can come up with.
> 
> Fun fact. This is actually the second story I've written that is a direct response to the deletion of a story I really like. The first one was Coinciding Moments, in response to _Battle for an Otaku_ being deleted. I very much doubt this will turn into the same monster that CM did but it's an amusing thought that both are Lucky Star fanfics as well.
> 
> Much of this chapter is just re-establishing my Lucky Star headcanons in a different context from _Coinciding Moments_ (a cookie for those who can spot the references.) Similarly, as the chapter name implies, it is also setting up the hijinks for future chapters. The first night will be pretty tame, but the three nights after that will better earn its rating.
> 
> **Next chapter: The First Night, Round 1**


	2. The First Night, Round 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Kagami wakes in time for dinner, Konata wins at Wii sports, and Patricia introduces the gang to a traditional slumber-party game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect big tsundere energy from this chapter. Don't worry if you don't get what that means. Just sit back and enjoy if you can.

Kagami opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, the smell of freshly-cooked curry wafting through the air. She could, just barely, hear muffled conversation through the walls. She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms.

She'd been asleep for embarrassingly long. It'd been long enough that the sun had already set, a dim moonlight illuminating the room through her window. Long enough that the light lunch that she had eaten had long been digested, her growling stomach demanding that she investigate the pervasive smell of curry as soon as possible. And, most embarrassingly, even long enough that _Tsukasa_ woke up first, the younger twin's bed laying empty.

"There's a first time for everything, I guess," she muttered to herself.

With a frown, Kagami tried to get out of bed, swearing under her breath when she realized how sore her legs felt. Any attempt at moving them sent a dull, throbbing pain through her muscles—she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to climb out of bed. She tried anyway, grimacing tightly as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet touching the ground.

"Come on, girl," Kagami grunted. "Just power through it."

She pushed herself up and took an unsteady step, her knees threatening to buckle under her weight. A moment later she took a second step, feeling a little bit more sure of herself. She took another step, then another, then yet another, awkwardly shuffling until she eventually reached the door.

She smiled wryly. Her legs were already starting to feel better, which was good. Well… it was either that, or she was simply getting used to the pain. Regardless, the act of walking was getting easier. In the end, that was what mattered to her.

With a deep breath, she let out a determined huff and turned the doorknob, limping into the hall.

The room directly in front of her's and Tsukasa's was completely open. Patricia stood at the threshold, leaning against the door frame, her back to Kagami as she talked to her roommate. Who was she rooming with again? Hiyori?

"I'm telling you, dinner's ready," Patricia said, the tone of her voice suggesting a smile on her lips. "You can finish that once we eat."

Kagami could just barely hear Hiyori voice a reply, but couldn't make out the words. Whatever she said, it _did_ cause Patricia to giggle, though.

"Do you want me to drag you there? Or maybe a bridal carry? You seem like you'd be into that."

Kagami felt her face heat up and quickly decided that she didn't want to bother them. She closed the door behind her and started down the hall, only to be stopped by the very people she didn't want to bother. She probably shouldn't have closed the door so suddenly.

"Eyo, Hiiragi-senpai. Just woke up?"

Kagami suppressed a wince and looked back. She did her best to put up a chipper front. "Yeah. The whole trek up here really took a lot out of me." This earned a chuckle.

"Heh. I can imagine. It certainly put me and Hiyori through the wringer." Patricia gave Kagami a quick once-over, smirking. "The disheveled look kinda suits you, by the way. The bed hair looks particularly cute."

Kagami's chipper front immediately caved as she winced. "R-right." She ran a hand through her hair, only just now realizing that one of her twin-tails had come undone, and that the remaining one was close to doing the same. "Where's the bathroom…?"

"There's one on either end of the hall. Toilet's the next room over."

"Th-thank you, Miss Mar-" Kagami shut her mouth when the blonde American frowned, eyebrows raised. She felt her face heat up even more. Patricia liked being called by her first name. Right. She'd forgotten about that. "Thank you, Patricia," she corrected. "I'll just be freshening up a little."

As quickly as the frown appeared on Patricia's face, so too did her smirk replace it. "Good luck, senpai. Food is ready downstairs."

With that, Patricia proceeded to enter the room and, presumably, drag Hiyori to the kitchen. That's what all the kicking and screaming was about, right? Right…?

"Nope," Kagami said to herself. "Not thinking about that." Putting whatever was happening in the Martin-Tamura room completely out of mind, she turned on her heel and made for the bathroom, walking with the intention of fixing her hair.

Minutes later, she limped precariously down the stairs and stumbled into the hall. The smell of curry had become progressively stronger as she’d neared, reaching its peak when Kagami crossed the threshold of the kitchen.

On the dinner table was an unusually large pot—really, it was more of a metal drum—containing the curry. Behind it was Konata, looking over the drum with a ladle in hand. She was obviously standing on one of the seats, else the drum would have completely hidden her from view. Everyone else was seated, whispering among themselves. Tsukasa and Yutaka sat on either side of Konata, with one empty seat next to Tsukasa—probably Kagami's own seat. The Takaras and Iwasakis took four seats on Yutaka's side of the table, with the Kusakabe and Minegishi siblings taking the other side. Directly across from Konata were two empty seats—probably for Patricia and Hiyori.

Kagami took a seat next to her twin, said twin smiling at her excitedly. Kagami smiled back with equal excitement. Konata promptly passed her a plate of rice and curry.

Truthfully speaking, had she any less self-control, she'd have attacked her plate as soon as it was in front of her. A cursory glance at around table told her that she wasn't the only one ready to dig in. Misao in particular was shaking with so much anticipation that she could have blasted off into space as soon as the greenlight was given and it wouldn't have been surprising.

Konata stepped off the chair she was standing on and took a seat, shooting Kagami one of her signature cat smiles. She was no doubt ready to tease Kagami about her obvious look of hunger—a look that she wasn't even trying to hide. With Tsukasa sitting between them, Kagami could only shoot back with a scowl.

"What's with _that_ look?"

Konata leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. "Nice ponytail."

Kagami resisted the urge to hide her face, though she couldn't stop her scowl from deepening. Okay, that wasn't a comment on her face, like she expected, but it was still a comment on her appearance—and a callback to a previous conversation. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, I know. Manly, like a samurai." She turned away.

"You know, that wasn't an insult," Konata said. "Samurai are cool."

A wry smile tugged at Kagami's lips. It certainly seemed like a very Konata-ish sentiment, so she wasn't entirely surprised to hear it. Still, though, "Cool or not, how is calling me _manly_ not an insult?"

"You gotta open your mind, Kagamin. Let go of those gender stereotypes keeping you down."

Wait, gender stereotypes? Okay, that did _not_ seem Konata-ish at all. "What are you talking about?" Kagami asked with a groan. "This isn't another anime thing, is it?"

Before the conversation could continue, they heard footsteps and voices from the hall outside the kitchen.

"I'm serious, Patty, I can walk. You don't have to carry me. No. Put me down. Please. Don't go in there carrying me. No. Please no. Don't go in there. Dontgointheredontgo-"

All eyes were on the door as Patricia entered the room, teeth bared in a smug-looking grin. In her arms, Hiyori whimpered, face flushed a deep red and buried in her hands. Interesting how Patricia really _did_ end up bridal-carrying Hiyori—just like she said she would…

"Sorry we're late. Little-miss-art-addict here didn't want to part with her sketchbook."

Kagami watched idly by as Patricia let Hiyori down and they both took their seats. Once they were situated, it became apparent that the table had gone silent.

Konata cleared her throat and clapped her hands together. "Thank you for the food?"

Everyone immediately parroted the words and mirrored the motion, though with significantly more gusto and enthusiasm. Without missing a beat, they proceeded to tuck into their meal.

That drum had been filled with… _what,_ a cubic meter of curry? Or something similarly crazy? Well, they'd managed to empty it within a few short minutes. It was reasonable, of course—there were fourteen of them, after all, and they'd each taken at least two servings, including Kagami. Konata and Yutaka had unexpectedly taken three—for such small people, they could eat a surprising amount of food—though they were clearly unable to stand by the time they licked their plates clean. Misao had taken a whopping _five_ helpings, and still looked a little bit peckish. Was that how much she _normally_ ate? If so, then that'd be unbelievably unfair. How the hell did she not get fat? Was it because she was on the track team or something?

Kagami's train of thought was derailed when the Iwasakis stood, Honoka announcing that she and Minami would be doing the dishes. She requested that everyone pass along their plates. Next to Kagami, Misao also stood, volunteering to do the dishes as well.

"The more the merrier," Honoka said, with a kind smile. "Be a dear and bring the curry pot near the sink."

"Aight." Misao gave a quick, lazy salute and walked past Kagami and Tsukasa. "Scoot over, Chibi."

"When you clean the pot, make sure you're not _licking_ it clean."

Misao snorted, flipping the drum and holding its opening over Konata's head.

"Nonono," Konata quickly said, grabbing hold of Misao's arms before the taller girl could lower the drum. "It was a joke, Misakichi. No need to get all dramatic."

Misao snickered, relenting. "Pick yer battles better." She carried the drum to the sink without further incident.

Kagami leaned forward and rested a chin on her palms. "You really like stirring the hornet's nest, don't you?"

Konata slumped back into her chair and sighed in what seemed like contentment. "Totally worth it, though."

Kagami rolled her eyes. "One of these days, you'll end up picking on someone who has no qualms with hurting someone smaller than them. Whenever that happens, I hope you realize how much it _isn't_ worth it."

"We'll see, Kagamin. We'll see…"

* * *

**_Later…_ **

Misao felt a little bit miffed. She wasn't on the school baseball team (track team for life) but even _she_ could tell that the baseball video game that Konata made them play was bullshit. If you were pitching, the stupid remote treated every pitch like a fastball, unless you were doing some weird hand movement that Misao couldn't wrap her head around. If you were batting, actually hitting the damn ball was a crapshoot. You barely had control of the angle of the bat. God, it was the most frustrating thing she'd experienced since she’d first encountered highschool math.

And most frustrating of all, Konata seemed to have mastered whatever weird quirks the game had.

The TV speakers blared, the sound of a loud wooden impact making Misao flinch. The cheering of a crowd of virtual bobble heads followed immediately after. The midget managed her fifth home-run in the game, giving the blue team a demoralizing 7-1 advantage.

"As much as I like winning," Kagami began, smiling wryly as she sat next to Misao on the corner couch. "Konata's showboating is getting a little annoying."

As she said this, Konata bowed dramatically at the others, almost all of whom were clapping enthusiastically. The only people who seemed even remotely unimpressed, other than Misao and Kagami, were Yutaka, Minami, and Misao's brother—and even those first two were still clapping.

Misao tilted her head toward Kagami as they both watched the Konata pass her Wii remote to Tsukasa, who was next up to bat.

"How much ya willing ta bet that she's mastered every sport bundled into this stupid game?"

Kagami side-eyed her and smirked. "Given how much time Konata spends playing video games? A year's worth of allowance."

Misao chuckled, matching Kagami's wager.

Konata ended up winning by a landslide with every sport they played. Bowling? She had a score in the mid-to-high 200s, while everyone else had 150 at most. Tennis? It was more even, but her team still swept through the doubles matches with a five point lead. Boxing? The most even of all of them, with Kagami and Misao nearly defeating her, but she still won every match. The only game that Konata technically didn't win was golf, but that was only because everyone declared it was boring some five minutes into it.

Most of the party had excused themselves over the course of Konata's win streak. Minami had escorted an exhausted Yutaka to her room shortly after the tennis match—the poor girl had been swinging the Wii remote like an actual tennis racket instead of just shaking it. Miyuki and the two adults followed shortly after the boxing match. Misao's brother—Masaru—was the first to declare the golf game boring when he left for his room. Ayano and Akane shared his sentiments, but stuck around a little longer before leaving. When Konata noticed that their party had been reduced to six, she gave in, finally exiting the game.

"Ready to call it a night?" Konata asked, carefully removing the disc from her Wii and inserting it into one of those zip-up disc sleeve notebooks. "I don't know about you, but I'm still wide awake."

Kagami seemed just as awake as the midget but said she wanted to sleep. In complete contrast, Tsukasa was already nodding off but wanted to stay up anyway. One of the first years, the American, looked like she wasn't even tired. What was her name again? Oh yeah, Martin. Patricia Martin. The other first year, the one always drawing, was unsurprisingly busy with her sketchbook. She was called Hiyori Tamura, right?

Misao shrugged. "I can probably stay up a few more hours. Have somethin' in mind?"

Konata raised another disc—a way smaller one. "You familiar with a game called _Super Smash Brothers?"_ She smiled her irritating cat smile. "I play a mean Captain Falcon."

Patricia leaned forward from where she sat, humming in thought. "Hmm. I have something else in mind, actually. A traditional slumber-party game we have back in the States."

Konata raised a brow. "Oh?"

They shared sly looks. They both turned to Misao, and immediately it became clear what those looks were saying.

"I'm game," Misao said, stretching her arms. "What are we playing?"

Patricia grinned. "It's called _truth or dare._ It's kind of like the king's game you sometimes play here, but with slightly different rules."

Kagami, Tsukasa, and Hiyori looked at Patricia nervously. Misao couldn't blame them. The blonde had a wild look in her eyes that gave even Misao and Konata pause—and _they_ were the jokers of their respective classes.

"So, you start by randomly picking a person to be _it._ We normally stand in a circle and spin a bottle. Whoever the end of the bottle points to is _it._ Anyway when you're it, you can ask any participant _'truth or dare.'_ Picking 'truth' means they need to answer any question truthfully. Picking 'dare' means you do one action that whoever's _it_ tells you to do. Those watching can join in to cheer or make it more interesting."

Misao faintly heard Kagami mutter, "Oh great. It's _Peer Pressure,_ the game…"

Despite her comment, she and everyone else gathered in a circle on the carpet. Konata sat next to Patricia and Hiyori. Misao sat next to Kagami, who sat next to Tsukasa. Konata took one of her Wii remotes and spun it around. It stopped at Tsukasa, who immediately blushed.

"Um… uh… what do I do?"

"Don't worry, Tsukasa," Konata began encouragingly. "You're _it._ That means you can pick one of us here and ask us _'truth or dare.'"_

Tsukasa put a finger on her chin. "Oh… hmm…?" She shakily pointed at Konata. "Uh… truth or dare, Konata?"

"I pick truth." There was a pause as the two merely stared at each other. "That means you can ask me anything and I have to answer it," Konata continued helpfully.

Misao's eyebrows had been steadily rising as Konata interacted with Tsukasa. The midget was surprisingly accommodating for the younger Hiiragi twin. It was strangely endearing. No wonder Kagami put up with her.

"Oh… uh… okay, so… what's your favorite sweet?"

Konata cupped her chin and scrunched her face, dramatically humming in thought. "Hmmm. Excellent question, young one. It is a most uncertain thing you have asked of me."

Misao made an involuntary snort. She didn't expect Konata to be able to make such a convincing grandma-voice. Everyone else seemed just as amused.

Konata raised a finger. "If I were to pick, perhaps I'd choose popsicles?"

"Last time, you said your favorite candy was bubble gum," Kagami heckled.

Konata pouted. "I am a fickle woman, Kagamin. Surely an indecisive tsundere such as yourself would understand." Ignoring Kagami's glare, Konata directed her attention to Tsukasa. "In any case, was that a satisfactory answer?"

Tsukasa giggled and nodded.

"My turn, I guess." With a hand hiding her mirthful smirk, Konata scanned the room, eventually settling on the person next to her. "Patty. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Patricia answered, almost immediately.

"What's your cup size?"

She didn't even miss a beat. "Last I checked, I'm an American B or C-cup. In Japanese sizes, I'm a C or D."

"Nice."

The room had gone still. In the wake of Patricia's casual answer, it had quickly dawned on everyone what kind of game _truth or dare_ actually meant to people like Konata and Patricia. It was a way to embarrass others as much as humanly possible.

"My turn now," Patricia announced, knocking everyone out of their epiphany-induced stupor. "Hiyori! Truth or dare?"

Said girl jumped in her seat, her glasses nearly falling off her face. "D-dare?" she answered in a panic.

Patricia's smile looked sharp, almost predatory. And the way Hiyori looked back, with that red face and pleading eyes, made it clear that they both knew where this was going.

"I dare you to show everyone what you've been drawing these past few minutes."

 _"Eep,"_ Hiyori squeaked.

Despite the obvious reluctance, the artist showed everyone her sketchbook with little urging. On the page was an inked and partially colored illustration of Miyuki playing tennis. She was wearing her Ryōō PE uniform, and based on the white highlights on her skin, was covered in sweat. The speed-lines on the arm and tennis racket suggested that she was mid swing. Similarly, the speed-lines on her chest suggested her boobs were bouncing all over the place.

"Wow," Misao muttered.

Konata and Patricia looked pleased with themselves, muttering to each other about moé. They still never explained what moé was, for the record.

"Wow, that's amazing, Miss Tamura. You draw really well." Tsukasa, bless her, found nothing sexual about the art whatsoever.

Kagami, on the other hand…

She rubbed her temples. "I'm surrounded by perverts," she grumbled.

Misao nudged her shoulder. "Lighten up, Hiiragi. It's just a drawing. Not like it's a sexy photo or whatever."

"Somehow, I'd be more okay with a sexy photo. At least then, it'd be consensual."

"Unless it was taken in secret," Konata interjected with a raised index finger. "Then again, that could still be consensual as well. Voyeurs and exhibitionists have their niche."

"Does Hiyori count as a voyeur?" Patricia asked.

"Excellent question, Patty." Konata turned to Hiyori, who shrunk under her scrutiny. _"Do_ you count as a voyeur, Hiyori Tamura?"

"What's a voyeur?" Tsukasa asked innocently.

Kagami pressed her palms against her face and slowly slid them down, dragging them across her cheeks with a tired sigh. "Can't we just drop the subject and resume the game? She already did your stupid dare."

"Ya know, she's got a point, guys," Misao said pointedly "It's Tamura's turn ta pick someone."

They shrugged. "Fair enough," Patricia relented. "Hiyori?" They turned to the girl in question.

Hiyori fidgeted, avoiding eye contact from any of them. Her voice was small when she spoke. "Can I pass?"

Patricia leaned back and crossed her arms, pouting. "Well, you _can._ We're not gonna stop you." She clicked her tongue. _"But,_ if you wanna keep watching the madness unfold, you need to participate."

"I _really_ don't like your use of the word 'madness' in this context," Kagami said with a sigh.

The blonde was unperturbed. "Well, if the shoe fits, senpai."

Kagami raised her hands in tired surrender. "Whatever. Just get on with it already."

"We're just waiting on Hiyori."

Hiyori continued to avoid meeting their gazes. "I don't know who to pick, though."

"Then pick someone random."

"Here." For the second time that night, Konata placed a Wii remote at the center of their circle and spun it. Eventually, it stopped at Kagami. "There we go. Kagami, truth or dare?"

Kagami rubbed her face once more. "I can't believe I'm actually participating," she said under her breath, Misao only barely catching the whispered words. "Dare."

Silence.

Kagami removed her hands from her face, raising a brow. "Tamura, I said, _dare."_

Hiyori still refused to make eye contact. "I heard you," she mumbled, seeming to shrink even more, as if to make herself a smaller target. "I'm just not sure if you'd like my dare. I don't wanna make you mad."

More silence.

Misao burst out laughing. "This is amazin', Hiiragi! Rumors about yer temper's trickled all the way down ta the freshmen! Look at how scared she looks!"

This earned a punch to her shoulder. It probably wouldn't bruise, right?

"Shut up!" Kagami snapped with an irritated glare. "I do _not_ have a temper, okay!?" She let out a huff as tension released from her features. "In any case." She returned her attention to Hiyori. "Relax, Miss Tamura. I'm not going to hurt you. I may find your hobbies a little… questionable-"

Konata snickered. "That's certainly a polite way of saying it."

Kagami's smile twiched as she visibly restrained herself from retorting. "But I don't think you can get me anywhere near as mad as _these two jokers_ can." She sneered pointedly at Misao and Konata.

Misao shrugged. "Guilty," she admitted.

Konata smiled, putting a hand on her chest with mock incredulity. "Why, Kagami, I didn't know you thought so highly of me."

"It wasn't a compliment," Kagami shot back with a dry growl, rolling her eyes. "In any case, just hit me with your best shot, Tamura. I promise I won't get mad."

With obvious reluctance, Hiyori nodded slowly, swallowing a nervous breath. "O-okay… so… uh… Hiiragi-senpai… I dare you to… I dare you to let Konata-senpai sit on your lap."

There was a beat…

Two beats…

Three…

A full measure passed.

Kagami let out another tired sigh and massaged the bridge of her nose. "It is way too late to be dealing with this crap." She adjusted her sitting position and patted her legs. "Alright, fine, sit on my lap or whatever. I don't care anymore."

For a moment, Konata tilted her head and stared curiously, before shrugging and crawling over to where Kagami sat on the carpet. "How refreshingly compliant of you, Kagamin. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you actually _wanted_ this." She plopped onto the taller girl's lap, making herself comfortable.

As soon as the midget found a good position, Kagami snaked her arms around Konata's waist. Misao heard a sharp exhale from the shorter girl.

"Uh, Kagami? This is a little tight," she muttered with a wince.

"Mhmm."

Kagami's unamused expression didn't change, nor did Konata's pained one.

Misao found herself grinning. "Enjoying yourself, chibi?"

Konata smiled back in kind. "Why you asking? Jealous?" She winced again, tapping Kagami's arms around her waist and whining in discomfort. "This is starting to hurt, Kagami."

"Good."

Kagami turned to Hiyori, noticing her frantic scribbling on her sketchbook. "Tamura, you're not allowed to draw me and Konata."

Hiyori froze, pencil still pressed against the page. "Is… is that a dare…?"

"No, it's a threat. No lewds. Or else."

Misao couldn't see Kagami's expression as she threatened Hiyori, but the way the artist's face paled was enough of a tell for how venomous Kagami's stare must have been. She wordlessly turned her pencil over and began erasing whatever it was she had been drawing.

An awkward silence followed, lasting only as long as it took Patricia to clear her throat.

 _"Ahem._ Hiiragi-senpai. I believe it's your turn now?"

Kagami turned up her nose. "I pass my turn to Tsukasa."

Patricia raised her brows, before shrugging. "Alrighty then. Tsukasa-senpai, it's your-"

"Wait, that's not fair," Hiyori cut in. "Why'd you let her pass but not me?"

"You're easier to bully into participating."

Hiyori opened her mouth to reply but did not say anything. She eventually shut her it and looked to Konata helplessly.

The midget shrugged. "I mean, you're really easy to peer pressure. And besides. Would _you_ be willing to say 'no' to Ryōō's biggest tsunder-aaak!"

Everyone flinched when Konata cut herself off. A dangerous aura seemed to radiate from Kagami, but she otherwise looked as calm as a tranquil lake.

"FairenoughIseeyourpoint," Hiyori squeaked, hiding behind her sketchbook. "Carry on, Tsukasa-senpai."

On the other side of Kagami, Misao noticed Tsukasa nudging the older twin with an elbow. "Lighten up, sis. You're ruining the fun for everyone else."

Kagami's aura seemed to dissipate. She turned away from the younger twin, scowling, but in a way that suggested regret rather than annoyance.

"Right… Sorry." She sighed, relaxing her features—and her hold on Konata, who looked incredibly relieved by that fact. She turned back towards Tsukasa. "Can I still give you my turn?"

Tsukasa smiled brightly. "Absolutely."

Misao stared in wonder. Kagami backing down with no resistance had been a sight to behold. That wasn't even taking into account the inherent topsy-turviness of _Tsukasa_ being the one to scold her. The younger twin had managed to placate the older with nothing more than two sentences and a kind sentiment.

Then again, if Misao had been the one told off, she'd have backed down as well. The thought of upsetting Tsukasa by being stubborn and difficult just didn't sit right with her. There was just something so inexplicably wrong about it. 

Misao blinked, realizing that she'd been staring into space. It couldn't have been longer than a minute, but it had been more than enough time for the younger twin to make use of her turn—based on the fact that Patricia was telling a story from her middle school days, it had probably been a "Truth" question.

She leaned over to Kagami, tapping her and the midget on the shoulder. In their brief moment of eye contact, Misao mouthed "water" to them, jerking a thumb to the kitchen.

They both gave her a nod, though Kagami's was more of a pointed headbob, telling her to just go, while Konata's was a slow tilt, as if asking her why she thought she needed to ask for permission.

She flicked the midget's forehead. "I was bein' polite, ya little twerp," she hissed.

With that, she got up and retreated to the kitchen. Hopefully, she'd get back to the action before things escalated even more.

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_ **

In the lamp-lit room she shared with her mother, Miyuki sat comfortably under the covers of her bed, reading the second of six books she had brought for their trip—she had finished the first one during the train ride that morning. Yukari slept soundly on the bed next to her own, spread-eagle in a loosely fit purple nightgown that matched Miyuki's pink, chest rising and falling in slow, steady intervals.

There were three evenly spaced knocks on the door.

"Come in, Minami," Miyuki said, closing her book and setting it down on the nightstand.

Minami entered the room, bowing slightly as she crossed the threshold. "Good evening, Nee-san."

"Good evening. How is Yutaka?"

The sides of Minami's lips and eyes curved almost imperceptibly, implying a smile as best she was capable of. "She's well. She still had a surprising amount of energy despite everything. Sleep didn't come easily for her, so we talked for a few minutes."

Miyuki nodded. "Understandable. She _did_ eat three servings earlier. She must have had energy to burn still. I take it your conversation was enjoyable?"

Minami nodded in reply, to which Miyuki tilted her head slightly. Understanding the unspoken request, Minami elaborated.

"She mostly gave commentary on today's events, complimenting Hiiragi-senpai and Kusakabe-senpai for their wit and ability to keep up with Izumi-senpai's jokes. I had no comments of my own, so I simply let her talk."

Miyuki had no comments either. "Thank you for telling me, Minami. As for me, I've only been reading. If you wish, I can give you a summary of what happened so far in the story and my thoughts."

Minami shook her head.

"I see. Well, if you're ever interested, all you need to do is ask. I'll happily lend you my copy."

There was silence for a time, the only sound in the room being Yukari's soft breathing and the occasional muffled noises from outside.

"I no longer hear the television running downstairs, but I do still hear conversation through the floor. Do you know what they're doing now?"

Minami shook her head again.

Miyuki stood. "I'm not particularly sleepy yet. Would you like to go down and check on them?"

Minami tilted her head for a moment, before nodding.

Miyuki smiled and walked to the door. "Come along, Minami," she said, with a small, beckoning wave.

The two left the room, letting Yukari slumber in peace.

Halfway down the stairs, they heard Patricia in the living room, regaling the others with a story with an air of solemnity. Miyuki wasn't sure if the American was overselling an amusing anecdote, or if it was actually as life-changing as the narration suggested it was. When they reached the bottom, they could more easily parse the words. They caught snippets about anime and hiring a tutor to learn Japanese.

Miyuki turned to Minami with a raised brow. Despite being more familiar with Patricia than her, all Minami could reply with was a blink and a blank stare. It did not matter, in the end, so Miyuki dropped the issue.

Just as they entered the living room from the hall, Misao walked past them from the kitchen, one hand carrying a pitcher of water; the other, a stack of multi-colored plastic cups. She shot them a glance before smirking, urging them to where the others had gathered with a pointed tilt of her head. They followed her to the crowd.

"Good evening again, everyone."

"I see our hosts have deemed us worthy of their presence," Konata commented as they approached. Surprisingly, she was sitting on Kagami's lap. More surprisingly, Kagami seemed perfectly comfortable with it. "We're playing a game called _truth or dare,"_ Konata continued. "It was Patty's idea."

Misao placed the pitcher and cups on the coffee table that had been pushed to the edge of the room, before sitting beside Kagami. Miyuki and Minami took seats between Misao and Patricia.

"I'm familiar with truth or dare," Miyuki remarked, pushing up her glasses. "I do request that we try not to make the dares _too_ crazy."

Patricia gave a lopsided smile. "No promises."

Everyone fidgeted in discomfort at the American's words. Konata and Misao seemed the least bothered, while Kagami and Hiyori, the most. Miyuki herself stood somewhere in the middle. What little she knew about the game did not paint a pretty picture about the rest of the night. At the same time, she was curious about how far they'd be willing to take things.

"Well, as long as you make an attempt." Miyuki coughed into her hand. _"Ahem._ In any case, don't let our arrival stop you." She turned to Patricia. "I believe you were telling an anecdote about your language tutor back when you lived in the US?"

Patricia snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah. To catch you up, my parents decided to get me Japanese lessons since I was super into anime. My tutor got me even more into it. Years later, once I achieved conversational competency, she suggested I try applying for an exchange program." She grinned. "A chance to go to Japan? There's no way I'd pass that up."

"I see." Miyuki put a finger on her chin. "Hmm. Aren't exchange programs temporary, though?"

Patricia nodded. "Yep. My student visa is only for two years. I'm looking into the possibilities of an extension, but there's no guarantee I'll get one. Worst case scenario, I'll have to move away after second year." She shrugged, looking away. _"C'est la vie."_

Miyuki looked among their group, gauging everyone's reactions. Konata and Hiyori both looked unsurprised to hear this, the former fidgeting with the Wii remote in her hands, the other scribbling lazy circles in the corner of her sketchbook. Misao and Minami looked pensive, their gazes aimed towards the floor. Tsukasa seemed the most distraught by this information, looking ready to cry as Kagami rubbed her shoulder and murmured reassurances.

"It's over a year and a half away. There's plenty of time for her to get an extension."

Tsukasa nodded slowly. "I know… But it still makes me sad…"

Konata gave a half-hearted chuckle. "You only met her three months ago and already you're crying at the prospect of her leaving? You really do have a big heart, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa sniffed. "Really?"

"Really."

She looked to Kagami and Misao, who both hummed in agreement. She nodded slowly once more, rubbing tears out of her eyes.

"I'll be good in a bit. You guys can go on."

Patricia looked uncertain but nodded. "Well, if you're sure." Her eyes darted back and forth between Miyuki and Minami, eventually settling on the latter. "Minami, truth or dare?"

Miyuki felt the girl next to her stiffen, ever so slightly. Based on the sudden sharp glint in Patricia's eyes, she hadn't been the only one to notice the stoic's reaction. Everyone else, however, seemed none the wiser.

Minami blinked, turning to Miyuki with a quizzical look and a barely-raised brow.

Miyuki's brows were also raised. Based on what little she had read about truth or dare, she had assumed players weren't allowed to simply pick someone from the group. Patricia seemed to have bent the rules somewhat. No one else seemed bothered by this, however, so Miyuki met Minami's gaze and nodded cautiously.

Minami blinked again, before turning to Patricia. "Truth."

"What do you think of Yutaka."

The mention of Yutaka immediately snatched Konata's attention from Tsukasa. She eyed Minami critically.

Once again, Minami turned to Miyuki, to which Miyuki gave another cautious nod. Minami nodded back and closed her eyes in thought.

"Yutaka is… a wonderful friend," she said, opening her eyes.

Patricia gestured for Minami to continue. "Dig deeper, girl. I know you can do better than that—I've seen your literature essays. Make us _feel_ something."

Minami's face tightened, likely the closest thing to a frown that she could muster. This was a rare mood for the stoic. Miyuki wasn't sure what emotion she was trying to express. It was anyone's guess as to what Minami's next words would be.

Minami took a deep breath, as if to steel herself. When next she spoke, her voice was steady and unwavering.

"Yutaka is compassionate, optimistic, and has incredible willpower. Meeting her is what led to me meeting Patricia, Hiyori, and all the other friends I've made since. Her friendliness and general demeanor make it easy to be friends with her. Her ability to smile in the face of adversity, even the sickliness that has plagued her for her entire life, is nothing short of inspirational. She brightens up everyone's day because of it. She changed my life for the better, and I cannot thank her enough for becoming my friend."

Minami had sounded like someone desperately trying to suppress emotions that could not be contained. It was ironic, considering she was likely attempting the opposite—to portray emotions that refused to surface. It ended up with the same result, though: everyone sat in silence as they absorbed Minami's speech, all of them sporting flushed cheeks and stunned expressions.

"Well," Patricia said shakily. "When I said to make us feel something, you certainly delivered."

Tsukasa released a deep sigh. "My heart's still racing. That was so beautiful."

Miyuki leaned over and whispered, "Was that all on the spot?"

Minami nodded.

"Do you think you presented it well?"

There was a pause, but Minami still nodded again.

Miyuki smiled and left it at that.

The next few rounds came and went quickly. The lack of randomization was concerning, though it thankfully did not cause any strife. In fact, the proceeding rounds ended up harmless and forgettable.

There were _some_ stand-out rounds, however.

During one round, Minami had asked Misao if she had eaten the ice cream in the freezer, and Misao tattled on Konata on top of pleading guilty. This led to a small argument between the two, which Kagami broke up by pinching hard on Konata's arm and delivering a sharp chop to the side of Misao's head.

In another round, Kagami dared Hiyori to show Miyuki one of the drawings on her sketchbook. _"You know the one,"_ she had said. When Miyuki saw the sketch, she tactfully decided not to comment, if only to prevent more embarrassment—Konata and Patricia's laughter had been damning enough.

There was even a string of back and forth rounds where Konata and Misao dared each other to do some sort of exercise, such as jumping-jacks or squats. Misao successfully completed all of her sets with little trouble. Konata matched her, point for point at first, but started to fall off when Misao dared her to do exercises involving arm and upper body muscles. It eventually ended with Konata collapsing onto the carpet in a sweaty heap, hugging her shoulders with a pained, wry smile.

"I'll get you for this, Misakichi," she threatened weakly.

"Keep telling yourself that, Chibi. I can do this all night."

 _"Please_ don't make us sit through this all night," Kagami said with a sigh. She knelt in front of Konata as well, poking the smaller girl in the forehead. "That goes for you too, little-miss-competitive. Pick someone other than Misao this round."

Konata didn't bother making a witty remark. "R-right…"

Tsukasa crawled over with a cup of water. She and Kagami helped Konata upright. "Here." When Konata drank, she smiled. "Feel better?"

"Much, yes," Konata said. She took another long draught, gasping when she swallowed. "Whoo… whoo boy… okay… Okay, I think I'm good… Patty, truth or dare…?"

"Truth," Patricia replied.

"Who is the most attractive person in this room?"

"So, are we talking, like, personality? Looks? Gimme something to work with, here."

She received no reply. Understandably, Konata seemed keen on relaxing on the carpet between Kagami and Tsukasa.

Patricia pouted. "You're not falling asleep, are you?"

"Still awake. Just… just resting…"

Patricia shrugged. "Okay then." She looked around at the people in the circle. Miyuki felt a strange chill when the American's eyes passed over her.

"Personality-wise, it's easily _Hiyori."_ Patricia punctuated her sentence with a clap on Hiyori's shoulder, causing the girl to squeak and jump in her seat. "See? Her buttons are way too easy to push." Hiyori shrunk, hiding her face behind her sketchbook. Patricia ignored this reaction. "As for looks, it's a toss up between Takara-senpai and Kagami Hiiragi-senpai. They're both beautiful in their own right. Takara has a curvy, mature look about her. She also has glasses, which I'm kinda into. Hiiragi is more youthful, but the sharp eyes give her this refined quality—like a princess. I'm also more into straight hair than wavy."

Miyuki nodded, quietly accepting the compliments. After two years of Konata bombarding her with comments about her looks, she was no longer fazed by it—although the unsubtle glances to her chest and hips still made her somewhat uncomfortable.

Kagami was another story. She seemed completely taken aback by Patricia's words, face buried in her hands as she shrunk away from the group.

Konata quipped from the floor, "Hey, Kagamin. Why you so flustered?"

"She just said I was attractive," she hissed in reply, shooting Konata a glare through the gaps between her fingers. "Why wouldn't I be flustered?"

Konata sat up, smirking. "No need to be modest. You're my pick for most attractive, too. I'm sure Misakichi agrees."

"Yeah, Hiiragi," Misao chimed. "You're easily the prettiest girl I ever met."

"Shut up," Kagami snapped.

"I didn't think we'd need to tell you this, but you're beautiful, Kagamin. Everyone here can see it—everyone but you."

"Shut up!"

"Think about it, Hiiragi. You got smooth skin, soft hair, a bright smile."

"As bright as polished gold, and just as rare and valuable."

Miyuki smiled with sympathy as Kagami shrunk further into her fetal position, Konata and Misao continuing to pile compliments on top of her. Anticipating an adverse reaction to Kagami's rapidly building embarrassment, Miyuki cleared her throat loudly.

 _"Ahem._ Miss Izumi, Miss Kusakabe, please contain yourselves. Your points are valid but you're clearly not helping."

The two froze, turning to Miyuki.

"It's all true, though?"

"That may be so, but I imagine this is more a case of Kagami simply not being used to compliments about her physical appearance. With regular exposure, she'll eventually adapt, but right now, all you're likely to achieve by continuing is make her angry."

Konata raised a brow, smirking. "What makes you think that's not what we're trying to do?"

"Yeah. She's such a cutie when she acts all flustered and stuff."

As quickly as those words left their mouths, Kagami crawled behind them and delivered sharp chops to the back of their heads. Everyone winced as they yelped in pain.

 _"Dolts,_ both of you!" Kagami spat, teary eyed. "I should've _known_ you two had ulterior motives!"

The two stared back, clutching their heads. "I mean, would you prefer if we insulted you?" Konata asked, immediately showing a face of regret when she realized what she just said. "It was a joke," she added weakly.

Misao winced and elbowed her.

Kagami's teary glare grew darker as she stood and brandished a fist. "Do you seriously think it's funny to tease me? You think my suffering is cute?"

The two crawled backwards. "And you say _I'm_ dramatic. Suffering is such a strong—" Misao elbowed Konata again. "What I meant to say was, we don't mean any harm when we tease you. Flustered Kagamin is cute. Smiling Kagamin is cute. Laughing Kagamin is cute. Hurt Kagamin isn't."

"You're only digging your grave deeper, Konata." Kagami took a step forward.

"Well, what do you want me to say, then?" Konata crawled back a little more, stopping when her back touched Patricia's feet.

Kagami crossed her arms. "How ‘bout the truth?"

"I got her," Patricia said helpfully, grabbing Konata's shoulders and hoisting her onto her lap. Her arms were locked firmly around the shorter girl's waist. "You're free to take my turn, by the way, Hiiragi-senpai.

With a slight tilt of her head to the side, Kagami smiled sharply. "Well, there we go. What'll it be, Konata?"

Konata smiled wryly. "What do I have to do if I pick dare?"

"Do you _really_ wanna know?"

Konata sighed. "Look, Kagami. I don't know what has you so upset—"

"You said you were deliberately trying to get me angry!"

"—But I'm just doing what I've always been doing. I tease you to get a reaction. Your face is cute. I love the way it looks, especially when you smile or blush. I love it even more when you fight back. Your smug expression is easily the most satisfying thing to see when I tease you. It motivates me to tease you even more."

The blush on Kagami's face hadn't subsided. If anything, she looked even more flushed. She shook her head. "I don't buy it."

Konata turned towards the ceiling and groaned. "Oh, come on! How is it so hard to believe!?"

"Because it's too simple!" Kagami snapped. "You always make things complicated. Something so simple _can't_ be the reason."

Konata blinked, staring for only a moment, before bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"That is one of the most _tsundere_ things I've ever heard you say."

_"Why, I oughta—!"_

Tsukasa and Misao had to pull Kagami to the other side of the room, and Patricia held Konata protectively against her chest, refusing to let her go. Minami went over to talk to Hiyori, who looked spooked. Miyuki stayed next to Patricia, listening to her conversation with Konata.

"Has anyone ever told you to stop stirring up hornet nests?" Patricia asked sternly.

Konata gave her a look.

She sighed. "Yes, I know I'm not one to talk, but Hiiragi-senpai really did look pissed off, back there."

"Yeah, she did." Konata nodded thoughtfully. "Not gonna lie, though, she looked kinda hot."

Patricia winced, sighing again. "You know what? You're not wrong…"

Miyuki maintained her strained smile, still not sure how to react to what had just happened, or what she just heard. "Please don't take offence to this, but don't you think it's strange that you find Kagami's unbridled rage attractive?"

Patricia and Konata exchanged glances before shrugging simultaneously. "A bit, yeah."

Konata cupped her chin. "To be honest, I haven't really thought about it much. Part of me wants to say it's some unacknowledged masochism or something—it'd certainly explain my weird fixation on tsundere—but another part of me says that's not it."

Miyuki frowned. "There's that word again. You use it all the time but never explain it—not really. What is it about Kagami that makes her a tsundere?"

Konata looked meaningfully at Miyuki before looking past her to Kagami. Miyuki turned to follow Konata's gaze.

Kagami looked calmer now, the creases in her brow no longer as deep, though her blush was still in full bloom. She held a cup of water in one hand, and was grasping Tsukasa's hands in the other. She seemed to be aggressively scolding Misao, who stood a pace away from her, hands raised in surrender.

"The basics of a tsundere are that they're prickly on the outside, soft on the inside, and can't be honest with their feelings. Kagami sorta has that sense about her, doesn't she? Sarcastic and easily annoyed, probably acts like she doesn't like you—or, at least, that's how it felt for me when we first met…"

Misao prostrated herself in front of Kagami, causing the older Hiiragi twin to comically wave her hands in panicked dismissal. Miyuki did not need to know how to read lips to understand Kagami's pleas for Misao to stop bowing.

"But if you look beyond the cold shoulders and scalding remarks, it's not hard to tell that she cares. You could even say she cares a little too much."

Kagami knelt down and pulled Misao upright. Once she was sat up, Kagami smiled kindly and put a hand atop Misao's head. Shortly after, Misao threw her arms around Kagami into what looked like a bone-crushing hug. Kagami immediately started rapidly tapping Misao's shoulder in the hopes of being released from the hug.

"Of course, she'll never admit that to me… or you… or anyone, really. Hell, she probably won't even admit it to herself. But that's just how tsundere are. And to be honest, it's part of what I like about them."

Miyuki nodded slowly. "That was… that was very articulate, Konata. You seem to have thought about this a lot—seemingly more than you did when you last tried to explain it."

Konata shrugged. "Tsundere is a widespread anime character trope. That's sorta my bread and butter."

Kagami approached, Tsukasa and Misao following behind her. "Hey, uh, Konata?" she said, not making eye contact. "Sorry for nearly clobbering you. I was angry, but that was no excuse to try and hurt you like that."

Konata waved off the apology. "Ah, don't worry about it. I provoked you, didn't I?"

Kagami raised a brow. "You're not at all sorry for what you did, are you?"

Konata shook her head. "Not one bit."

Kagami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Somehow, I'm not surprised." She smiled wryly. "Was it worth it, then?"

Konta grinned. "Oh, absolutely. That face of burning fury you had? Top notch!"

A wince. _"Please_ tell me you're joking."

"No, I'm serious. Misakichi, back me up on this."

They turned to Misao, who nervously shifted her weight. "I mean… It was a little hot…? I guess…?"

"See!?"

Kagami rubbed her face, groaning. "Uuuhhg. I can't believe you're still on about this."

"Look, Kagamin, everything I told you was true. Despite any of your assumptions, it's really not that complicated."

"Whatever, I don't care anymore." Kagami raised her hands in surrender. "So, now what? Are we gonna continue the game or go to bed? It's pretty late now."

Miyuki looked at the clock on the wall. "It’s a little past midnight," she announced to the room.

Konata raised an index finger. "How about one more round? Then we can call it a night."

Everyone looked at each other, and shrugged. "Sure. One round."

Konata tapped Patricia's arm, prompting the American to release her. She stood and stretched, before turning on her heel and pointing at Patricia's face. "Since you gave your turn to Kagami earlier, I'll give my turn to you."

Patricia grinned. "You wanna end the night on a bang, huh? Where's the Wii-mote? I wanna make this last one random." Minami stepped forward with the device, handing it to Patricia.

With a flick of her wrist, the Wii remote spun on the floor, eventually stopping on Miyuki. "Truth or dare?"

"Hmm. For the purposes of making it quick… I suppose I pick dare?"

Patricia's smile turned sharp, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "I dare you to give someone in this room a kiss on the lips."

Miyuki sucked in a breath through grit teeth. She had expected a game of truth or dare to eventually lead to dares such as _'kiss someone.'_ They may have taken a meandering path to get to that point, but she knew it was still on the table. Despite knowing that, she still felt surprised when it finally came to it.

Everyone else was silent, eyes darting back and forth between Patricia and Miyuki. They were all waiting on someone to make a move.

Miyuki coughed into her hand. _"Ahem._ Would anyone like to volun-"

"Nonono," Patricia cut in. _"You_ have to be the one to choose."

Miyuki pursed her lips. No volunteers made it more difficult, but she could adjust accordingly. She scanned the room, weighing her options.

Kagami was still recovering from her outburst from earlier. Miyuki did not intend to make the night harder for her than it already had been.

The same could be said for Hiyori, who had seemed twitchy and tense all day, and Konata, who looked genuinely tired after enduring those physical exercise sets as well as Kagami's outburst.

Minami probably wouldn't have minded being kissed, though the thought of kissing her evoked strange, not-entirely-pleasant feelings within Miyuki that she wasn't in any state to process.

That left Patricia, Misao, and Tsukasa.

Patricia would likely be fine with it, since she _did_ say she found Miyuki attractive. She was also the one to make the dare.

But she did not know Patricia very well. She did not know Misao very well either.

As for Tsukasa…? Well, there were no other options…

"Tsukasa, would it be alright to kiss you?"

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Beta read by Trilicon, PastelRaccoon, and picardyThird._
> 
> Yes, I'm aware that it's a cliffhanger. No, I'm not sorry.
> 
> Patty's version of truth or dare completely takes out a lot of the randomization, which I suppose also takes out a lot of the fun. I'll fully address it in the next chapter, but if you want the short explanation, she was trying to make it as easy as possible for her to rig the game into going in interesting directions _(it's totally not because I forgot how truth or dare is played.)_
> 
> I tried to keep everything lighthearted, though I slipped dangerously close Coinciding Moments territory at certain points—particularly the parts with characters passionately describing their feelings like they're in a melodrama anime. It's not nearly as dramatic, of course, but it's still something I'm keen on controlling. I plan on sea-sawing the tone back and forth between comedic and dramatic, but I don't want it to ever get _dark._
> 
> I know I've mostly been following the same eight characters, ignoring everyone else, but that's only to keep the chaos from ramping up too quickly. Rest assured, characters like Yutaka and Ayano will have their moments to shine in future chapters.
> 
> Until then, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> **Next chapter: The Second Day, Intermission**


	3. The Second Day, Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein the Hiiragi twins have confused gay thoughts, Yutaka wonders why everyone is acting so strange during breakfast, and Konata has another heart-to-heart with Misao.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I can sustain this weekly upload schedule. Anyway, chapter 3. TW: incest mention. Enjoy if you can!

_Tsukasa's face felt hot when Miyuki brought her hands to her cheeks, fingers cold against her skin. The purple eyes staring into her own were as mesmerizing as they were terrifying. A storm of emotions churned within them—emotions that she intuitively understood were mutual._

_"I… I'm going to kiss you now…"_

_She nodded hesitantly. "G-go ahead…"_

Tsukasa tossed and turned on her bed. She didn't know how long she'd been awake, but she could tell that she'd never been up so late before. It's not that she wasn't _trying_ to sleep—she _was_ trying, honest—but whenever it seemed like she was about to fall asleep, she kept getting distracted. Her mind always just flashed back to the very last thing that happened before everyone turned in for the night. Every time she thought about it, her heart started racing. And whenever that happened, she suddenly wasn't sleepy anymore.

_Joy. Excitement. Anxiety. Confusion. As Miyuki approached, her feelings swelled, threatening to overflow. She could feel her body shaking with anticipation. She closed her eyes and held her breath, awaiting the moment of contact._

She rolled to her side and curled up, one hand pressed against her chest, the other touching her lips. It had to have been at least two hours now since that kiss—probably even longer—but she still remembered how it felt, as vividly as if it had just happened.

_She was a bundle of nerves, every muscle, twitchy and tense. It might have only lasted a few seconds—maybe even a single second—but it had **felt** like an eternity._

_And then she felt Miyuki's lips touch hers, leaving her blank, and empty… but pleasantly so. There were no lightning bolts, or fireworks, or an entire flower garden blooming simultaneously in the background, like how shoujo manga depicted it. It was just… like a boop on the nose, or a high five, or a hug—physical, pleasant, but not particularly world-changing._

_And yet…_

"I… kissed Miyuki," Tsukasa whispered to herself. "I kissed Miyuki and I liked it… I wanna kiss her again…"

She curled up tighter, failing to suppress a whimper.

After who-knows-how-long of her mind going in circles, she heard Kagami stir from the other bed. "Tsukasa?" Her voice was small, and uncharacteristically timid. "You're awake too, right…?"

Tsukasa didn't voice a reply, though she did sit up, pulling the covers close to her chest. Through the darkness, she could just barely see Kagami doing the same. Their eyes met briefly before they both looked away.

"I can't get to sleep," Kagami said with a wry-sounding chuckle. "I just sorta kept replaying the events of last night in my mind. It was kinda crazy, what happened, huh?"

Tsukasa didn't know what to reply with, so silence was all she could give. Confused, disappointing, awkward silence.

Kagami fidgeted on her bed. "So, uh… Tsukasa… when Miyuki kissed you—"

Tsukasa immediately flashed back to the scene, the mere mention of it making her heart rate jump and her skin prickle. "I liked it," she squeaked, feeling the blood pumping through her cheeks as she pressed her palms against them. "I really liked kissing her," she squeaked again.

There was a moment of silent horror as Tsukasa realized just what she had admitted to her twin. Would Kagami be angry at her for saying that? Disappointed? Confused? It wasn't weird to say she liked being kissed, right? Nothing insulting or possibly insensitive? Sure, Kagami hadn't had her first kiss yet, so maybe that might be a sore spot, but it probably wasn't—

Kagami snorted, immediately wiping away all of Tsukasa's worry. "I can imagine. You seemed pretty struck by it." An amused smile seemed to color her voice. "And you _still_ seem struck. You can't stop thinking about it, can you?"

Tsukasa whimpered, but still nodded in reply.

"Yeah? Well…" Kagami sighed. "Me neither. It's got me thinking of all sorts of things—things I never even knew were things to think about…"

There was another silence as the two shared a meaningful look. In that brief exchange, they achieved a wordless understanding: that one's feelings on the matter were just as confused as other's. In a way, Tsukasa found that fact pleasing. It was rare for them to be equal at something. Even though it was just their feelings about a kiss, it made them just a little bit closer to each other.

"Say," Kagami said, after the moment passed. "Would it make sense for me to ask you what it feels like to kiss a girl?"

The wording gave Tsukasa pause. "You mean, like, compared to a boy?"

"Yeah."

Tsukasa thought for a bit before giving a hesitant shrug and shake of her head. "It was my first kiss. Can't really compare."

Kagami sighed again. "Figured as much." She pulled up her legs, hugging her knees against her chest. "How does it feel to have given your first kiss to Miyuki, then?"

Again, Tsukasa thought for a bit. She'd been so caught up in the sensations of the kiss itself that it hadn't even occurred to her that Miyuki was her first—at least not until she uttered it to Kagami.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I mean, I liked it… and I don't regret it…"

Kagami leaned forward, turning towards her slightly. _"But…?"_ she added expectantly.

Tsukasa shook her head. "It's… really hard to explain… I guess it's just… I never really thought that I'd give my first kiss to a girl, much less Miyuki."

She giggled as she recalled the scene leading up to the kiss.

"Though, to tell you the truth, she made it really easy to give it to her. I was surrounded by my friends, she made sure I was comfortable about it, she never forced me or anything. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as how manga make it seem."

Kagami gave a slow, thoughtful nod. "Romance stories are rarely realistic," she said distantly. "And… you do realize that she probably wouldn't have taken your first kiss at all if it wasn't for that dare."

Tsukasa frowned, looking out of the window. "I guess," she said with another sigh.

Kagami did not continue the topic any further.

A few minutes passed. Outside, Tsukasa could already see the darkness turning brighter. The faint, pre-dawn light slowly diffused muted colors and detail into the trees surrounding the house. As she watched, she heard rustling from the other bed, and then felt a dip in the mattress behind her. Arms snaked around her shoulders, a head pressing against her back. They said nothing as the sensation of physical contact slowly sunk in. Tsukasa couldn't explain what gave her the impression—maybe it was the silence, or the unusually gentle hug—but Kagami felt distinctly bothered by something.

She put a hand atop her twin's arm. "What's wrong?"

Kagami's voice was small and timid when she spoke—even smaller and more timid than before. "I don't know," she whispered. "I feel… _weird…_ about all this… I'm happy you enjoyed kissing Miyuki. I just… It just feels… thinking about it is… I can't explain it…"

Tsukasa chuckled. "It's okay, Kagami. I can't explain it either…"

She continued looking out the window. She could tell that the sun would rise within the hour. It was easily the earliest she'd ever been up without Kagami waking her. Then again, the only reason she wasn't still curled up under her blanket was because of Kagami. It really depended on how she decided to view things.

A few more minutes passed.

"Hey, Tsukasa."

Kagami's voice seemed to have gained a little bit more of her usual confidence, though it was still smaller than normal.

"What's up?"

"If you were the one dared to kiss someone last night, who would you have picked?"

Tsukasa blinked. That was another thing she didn't really think about. She knew _now_ that Miyuki would be her best option, but at the time?

"It's hard to say," she said, tilting her head to the side. "I trust both Konata and Miyuki enough to kiss them, but… Hmm. This is a hard question… Maybe I'd pick you? We've kissed before, right?"

Kagami snorted. "Yeah, but not on the lips."

Tsukasa shrugged. "No, not on the lips," she agreed. "Though, if I _did_ pick you, would you have said yes?"

Kagami's breathing hitched, the arms around Tsukasa's shoulders suddenly growing tense. Okay, _that_ was a little worrying.

"Did I say something weird?"

"No no, it wasn't wei—" Kagami cut herself off with a sharp inhale. "Okay, maybe it's a _little_ weird. Siblings don't normally kiss."

"Really? I'm sor—"

 _"It’s fine,_ Tsukasa," Kagami cut in, before Tsukasa could finish apologizing. "It didn't offend me or anything. Just… Just be sure to keep its weirdness in mind when talking about it. It's an uncomfortable subject for a lot of people."

Tsukasa nodded. She didn't _quite_ understand what was so weird about it but decided not to press the issue.

"As for whether I'd say yes," Kagami continued. "If it were last night, I'd probably be irritable enough to just give a flat no." She tightened her embrace. "Honestly, even if Konata and Misao didn't spend literally the entire night annoying me, it'd still just be a 'maybe' from me."

"Oh. Okay then." Tsukasa felt her heart sink a little bit. She tried not to let it bother her, but disappointment still seemed to color her voice. Kagami picked up on it and gave a good-natured chuckle.

"Tell you what. If you get dared to kiss someone in the future, and you still decide to pick me, I'll say yes. Weird or not, there are worse things in the world than kissing my sister."

Tsukasa turned to her twin, who looked back at her with a wry smile. "Really?" she asked. "You serious?"

"I can't get over the fact that I'm saying this, but yes, I am. I'm willing to kiss you if you pick me."

"Oh… Thanks…"

A smile tugged at Tsukasa's lips as the two shared a moment of comfortable silence.

"What about you, then? Who'd you pick if _you_ were dared to kiss one of us?"

Kagami scratched the back of her neck. "Er… Well…"

"It's okay. You can say you wouldn't pick me."

Kagami snorted again. "You're right. I probably wouldn't pick you. As much as I'm willing to kiss you if it came down to it, you're still definitely one of my last choices. No offence."

Tsukasa giggled. "That's fair. You _did_ say it'd be weird."

They shared a small laugh.

And then Tsukasa realized that Kagami hadn't answered her question.

She tapped the arms around her until Kagami released her. Once they were separated from the hug, Tsukasa shifted her position on the bed to face her twin. "So, if I'm your last pick, who'd be your first?"

"Uh… Probably Miyuki?" Kagami answered, fidgeting.

Tsukasa pouted. "You sound like you're not sure."

Kagami refused to meet Tsukasa's eyes. "Because I'm not."

"Why'd you pick Miyuki, then?"

A shrug. "I guess she just seemed the least likely to tease me for picking her?"

Tsukasa lolled her head to the side. "I don't get it."

Kagami pursed her lips and threw her legs over the side of the bed, turning her back to Tsukasa. "I don't trust Konata and Misao with my first kiss—they'd make it weird somehow. I don't know any of the first years well enough to kiss them either—plus, both Martin and Tamura are perverts. And finally, Ayano has a boyfriend. I don't really have other choices, do I?"

Tsukasa lolled her head to the other side. "Hmmm. How would Konata and Misao make it weird, though?"

"They… They'd tease me, I guess…"

"Oh." Tsukasa blinked, then frowned. "Isn't that what they normally do?"

Kagami flinched. "I mean… _Technically,_ yes…?"

"What makes it so weird, then? Is it because they said you look beautiful?"

"Maybe…? Probably…? I don't know." Kagami shook her head. "Look, thinking about kissing them makes me feel weird. Isn't that reason enough?"

Tsukasa raised her hands in surrender. It was obviously a sore subject. It'd be better if she didn't push it.

They suddenly heard the door to the room next to theirs open and close. From the direction of the sound, it was Misao's. As expected from someone in a sports club, Misao was up early for a morning jog.

Kagami stood and tip-toed to the door. She opened it by a sliver.

"Are you gonna join her?" Tsukasa asked, still sitting on her bed.

Kagami turned and irritably shushed her, putting her index fingers against her lips. As she did this, Misao opened the door.

"Oh! Didn't expect ya ta be awake already. G'mornin'," Misao greeted.

Kagami jumped back with a comical flailing of her arms. _"Misao!"_ she yelped. She shrunk, facing the girl at their door. "Misao, hello, yes, good morning…"

"I'm off ta do my mornin' run. Wanted ta know if ya were up fer joinin' me."

"I… Er… well…"

As Kagami tried to stammer a response, Tsukasa leaned over to peek around her twin's back. Misao was wearing a tightly fit sports bra and shorts, showing off the lean muscles of her legs and midriff. Her usual, snaggle-toothed smile was still wide on her face as she waited for Kagami to get sorted out. She waved hello when she noticed Tsukasa's gaze. Tsukasa smiled and waved back.

"Look, I didn't get good sleep last night," Kagami eventually said. "Rain check?"

Misao shrugged. "Sure. I'll be off, then." She walked away. As her footsteps faded into the distance, Kagami closed the door and sighed.

"Say, Tsukasa."

"Mhmm?"

"Do you want to eat breakfast now? I don't think we're gonna go back to sleep any time soon."

Before Tsukasa could answer, she heard the muffled sound of two doors at the other end of the hall opening simultaneously. Tsukasa didn't really remember which rooms were whose, though. If she were to attach names to them… they were probably Minami's and… Miyuki's? Konata's, maybe? 

"Speaking of breakfast." Kagami peeked out through the door again. "There go our hosts. They probably want to have something cooked by the time everyone's awake." She walked over to her suitcase and began changing out of her pajamas. "You should get changed too."

Tsukasa shrugged and did the same. A minute or so later, they were in their casual wear and had their hair tied in their usual styles. With Kagami leading, they both left the room and climbed downstairs.

* * *

**_Later…_ **

_"Yutaka, it's time to wake up… Yutaka… breakfast is ready… Please, wake up now…"_

Yutaka slowly sat up and stretched her arms. "Good morning, Minami," she greeted with a small yawn—more of a huff, really.

"Good morning," Minami greeted back, bright blue eyes twinkling with gentle-looking tenderness. "Breakfast is ready."

Yutaka nodded, yawning again. She turned to the bed next to her own, eyebrows rising when she noticed that her cousin was also awake. Minami must have woken her too.

Konata rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, her long, cobalt blue hair looking hopelessly messy, and her face looking sour and scrunched-up. "What time is it?" she asked in a kind of grouchy way that Yutaka didn't normally hear from her.

"Seven o'clock," Minami answered with her usual quick response time. "Roughly two hours before school normally starts."

Konata pouted and looked at the taller girl standing between the two beds. "But it's summer break," she said, lazily raising a fist. "I demand to be allowed to sleep-in this morning."

Minami blinked. "Understood. I'll save a portion of breakfast for—

"It was a joke, Minami!" Konata quickly backpedaled, waving her hands in alarm. "Just a joke. I'm not miffed enough to turn down a meal."

Minami blinked again. "I see…"

There was a pause as they stared at each other, Minami's face still blank and vaguely confused-looking, while Konata's look growing increasingly skeptical, eyes narrowed and lips poutier. Yutaka put her hands to her mouth as she waited for the two to make a move. Konata ended up moving first.

"Do you _really_ see, or are you just saying that to keep me quiet?"

Minami blinked for the third time in so many minutes. "Is this another joke?"

Konata sighed, the tension draining from her face. "You know what, never mind. See you downstairs."

She threw off the covers and climbed out of bed. Surprisingly, she was wearing casual wear that Yutaka didn't recognize from the previous night—an orange, too-large shirt and denim shorts. She had probably changed into them while Yutaka was asleep. She did turn in much later than Yutaka did, after all.

Konata made for the door, not even bothering to brush her unkempt hair. Minami moved to follow but stopped at the door and turned to Yutaka. She tilted her head in question.

Yutaka gave a small wave of dismissal. "I'll be down soon. I just need to change out of my pajamas."

Minami nodded. "Be sure to bring your pill box."

"I will."

Minami closed the door behind her, leaving Yutaka to change out of her sleep wear.

A few minutes later, Yutaka entered the kitchen, taking the same seat she had taken next to Konata during dinner the previous night. Unlike dinner, though, everyone was already eating, and with much less frenzy.

Tsukasa put a plate of omelette rice in front of her, shooting her a smile and wink before returning to the stove where she continued to cook. Yutaka could only tilt her head in confusion at the wink. What was that all about?

With a shrug, she clasped her hands together. After a moment to give her thanks, she dug in—all the while, listening to the many ongoing conversations around her.

"…get that twin tails are a traditional tsundere hairstyle, but that ponytail you rocked yesterday looked so good it was criminal!"

"Why do I get the distinct feeling that you're quoting an anime?"

"That's cuz' I am."

"Uhhg. I _really_ shouldn't feel as surprised as I do…"

Yutaka giggled as she scooped a spoonful of egg and rice. Konata and Kagami were already at it again, and were the easiest to listen to as they were right next to her.

"…and because of those differences, an American-style omelette is normally enjoyed based on the add-ons, such as bits of bacon or tomatoes and the like, while a French omelette is normally enjoyed based on the texture and taste of the omelette itself."

"Wow, Miyuki. I didn't realize there were so many ways to make an omelette. I just always do it the way my mom does it."

"There's nothing wrong with that. There are many ways to cook an egg, and no one way is inherently superior to the other. In the end, all that matters is that it tastes good—and taste is subjective."

"Hmm… fair enough, I guess…"

Yutaka chewed thoughtfully at the conversation that Tsukasa and Miyuki were having at the stove behind her. She'd only ever had one style of omelette, and it was the same kind she was currently eating—both Konata and Tsukasa cooked them in nearly the same way. She was curious what other kinds of omelette tasted like. She'd have to ask Miyuki if they could have some next time they ate breakfast.

"…and it's just so hard to clean out. I've lost a dozen shirts that way."

"That's because you keep using warm water. Honestly, girl, I expected someone who gets nosebleeds as often as you would know better—especially since you're a girl."

"How does me being a girl relate to how good I am at cleaning bloodstains?"

"You get a monthly visitor down there, don't you?"

Yutaka jerked her attention away. She'd never been squeamish about blood, but she wasn't particularly fond of talking about it while she was eating. She'd rather not lose her appetite on account of her curiosity.

With impeccable timing, a distraction arrived. Minami entered the kitchen, with Honoka and Yukari following behind her. "Good morning, everyone," Honoka greeted them as they took their seats. "I trust our daughters' cooking was to your liking?"

There was a chorus of yeses from the table, Yutaka herself giving an affirmative "mhmm."

"Tsukasa helped," Miyuki said as she laid a plate of omurice for Honoka and Yukari each. "In fact, she did the majority of the cooking."

Tsukasa had just put a plate in front of Minami as Miyuki said this. Her face flushed and her eyes began darting around the room, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "I, ah… I didn't do _that_ much. We… er, we all… cooked our fair share. Yeah."

Miyuki giggled. "The most that Minami and I did was chop vegetables."

"That is correct," Minami said curtly before mumbling a _"Thank you for the food"_ with her hands held together.

"Don't be like that. You both helped a lo-"

Honoka cut Tsukasa off with a kind smile and a simple compliment. "It's delicious, Tsukasa," she said, after a taste.

"Indeed," Yukari agreed, eyes closed and lips curled to make the most satisfied expression the Yutaka had ever seen. "Thank you for cooking it."

The younger twin immediately swallowed whatever she was about to say. "You're welcome, Mrs. Iwasaki, Mrs. Takara." After timidly accepting the compliment, she retreated to her seat next to Kagami.

"You could learn a thing or two from Tsukasa about taking a compliment," Konata teased under her breath.

"Shut up," Kagami snapped back.

"It's true, though."

"I said _shut up._ Don't make me punch you."

Yutaka felt her limbs tense up a little. The venom in Kagami's voice was kind of alarming. They'd been talking normally just minutes prior. How could such a harmless jab cause such a severe reaction? Even more alarming was how half the table seemed to have tensed up, like Yutaka did—and if anything, they were _more_ tense. They were all shrinking slightly into their seats, eating a little bit faster.

Honoka and Yukari seemed completely unconcerned, however. Yukari continued savoring every bite with an enviable expression of bliss. Was she even aware of the sudden change of atmosphere? Honoka at least raised a brow at Kagami's words, but did nothing more than bring a glass of water to her lips and say, "Keep it civil, Hiiragi, we're eating breakfast."

It seemed that was all Kagami needed to snap her out of it. A deep flush had bloomed on her cheeks as Honoka took a long, slow sip. By the time the glass was on the table once more, Kagami was muttering apologies.

"Water under the bridge," Yukari said airily, still very much enjoying her meal. Honoka made no comment to confirm or deny Yukari's statement.

Yutaka looked back and forth between Kagami and Honoka before awkwardly returning to her meal. What was all that about, anyway? It wasn't nearly this uncomfortable the previous night.

Minutes later, once everyone had finished their meal, Honoka and Minami both stood to do the dishes. Tsukasa also stood, volunteering. Yukari stood as well, but not to do the dishes.

"Anyway, now that we're all fed," Yukari began, smiling widely. "Get excited! We're going swimming today! Did everyone bring swimsuits?"

Yutaka blinked. Swimsuits?

Everyone turned to Miyuki, who winced slightly. She stood as well, readjusting her glasses. "Right. I'm sure you noticed last night that we have a pool outside." As she said this, she gestured towards the glass sliding door at the far end of the kitchen, right at the threshold between the kitchen and living room. Outside the door, Yutaka could just barely see the edge of a pool. "Mother plans to be at the pool for most of our stay here. If you have a swimsuit, or clothes you're willing to get wet in, feel free to join her."

Yutaka wondered how many of them would swim that day. She had brought her own swimsuit, of course—just a school swimsuit, because she didn't really have anything else that fit her—and she knew that Minami had brought a swimsuit as well, but she wasn't sure about the others. Patricia and Hiyori both at least looked excited but everyone else seemed kind of pensive.

Come to think of it, Konata hadn't brought a swimsuit. Given the expression she wore—one that many at the table also wore—the others hadn't brought swim wear either. Did Miyuki forget to tell them about this? Minami had told Yutaka, Patricia, and Hiyori.

"Alternatively," Miyuki continued, "Misao asked if she was allowed to explore the town at the foot of the mountain. Anyone interested may join her instead. Otherwise, entertain yourselves however you wish. The house is yours for the duration of your stay here."

"I've got games we can play other than Wii Sports, for the record," Konata added. "Small discs need the purple controllers. Big disks need the white remotes."

After some deliberation, the table collectively decided that the options given were acceptable. They stood and all retreated to their respective rooms.

Konata nudged Yutaka as they were climbing the stairs. "You going swimming?" she asked.

Yutaka nodded. "Probably. It seemed like Patty and Hiyori were interested. Maybe if Minami's going as well."

Konata shrugged. "Fair enough."

The two stopped to wave at the people whose rooms were on the second floor before continuing up to the third.

"What about you, onee-chan?"

Konata frowned, cupping her chin in her hands. "I'm not sure. I lose a lot of moé points for not having a swimsuit. At the same time, the risqué-ness of wet t-shirts is also incredibly moé. It's hard to say."

Yutaka giggled. She had only been living with the Izumis for around four months but it had been plenty of time to get a better read on Konata's strange way of speaking sometimes.

"I'm sure you'll look cute either way," Yutaka said airily, to which Konata chuckled.

Again, they stopped to wave at their next door neighbors, the Minegishi siblings, before entering their room.

As soon as they closed the door, Yutaka went to sit on her bed while Konata remained standing. There was a thoughtful pout on Konata's face that seemed uncharacteristically timid.

"Say, Yutaka," Konata began. "I need your opinion on something…"

Yutaka cocked her head forward. "What is it?"

"Is it weird that I find Kagami hot when she's angry?"

Yutaka blinked. She may have gotten used to Konata's quirks, but this seemed like it was something else entirely.

"I don't know. Hiiragi-senpai _is_ really pretty." She shrugged. "What difference does it make if she's angry?"

"I mean, you're right, but…" Konata turned and let herself fall backwards onto her bed. "Last night, after you went to bed, I was teasing her a lot—you know, as you do—but I think I pushed a little too hard. I actually made her super mad. And wasn't will-threaten-me levels of mad, either. It was like, _will-actually-clobber-me_ levels."

Yutaka frowned, not really knowing how to react. Sure, it explained why half the table tensed up when Kagami snapped at Konata during breakfast, but that didn't really help Yutaka give her cousin advice. All she could really muster was a disappointingly unhelpful, "Wow… Uh… Isn’t that bad?…"

"Yeah, it is." Konata pressed her hands to her face and took a deep breath. She let out a shaky chuckle. "But you wanna know what's worse? I kinda wanna get her that mad again…"

Yutaka raised a brow. "Uhhh…"

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but the look in her eyes when she gets that way is just… just…" Konata raised her hands and made vague wavy gestures that Yutaka couldn't parse. "I can't explain it," she eventually concluded, dropping her hands to her side. "She's terrifying, but somehow I'm just… drawn to her…"

Yutaka blinked again, tilting her head to the side. On one hand, teasing Kagami seemed like perfectly normal behavior for Konata. On the other hand, she had never wanted to make Kagami mad before—at least not to the same level as what Konata was describing. This was new territory.

"Are you… uh…"

Yutaka's mind raced through the possibilities. Why would someone want to bully a friend to the point that they're actually upset? Like, when thinking about it, none of it made sense. Who would do that? And yet, it still seemed like familiar behavior that had a simple explanation. What on Earth would that explanation be, though?

Then it hit her.

"Onee-chan… don't you think that… maybe… you have a crush on Hiiragi-senpai?"

Konata rolled to her side and propped herself up with an arm. Her gaze was distant, but intense. "Yutaka, I can't give a definite answer yet, but you may be on to something. If it's true, then it explains a lot of things." She scrambled out of bed and made for the door.

Yutaka raised her brows. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I need to talk to someone," Konata said cryptically, closing the door behind her.

As muffled footsteps slowly faded into the distance, Yutaka sighed. "Everyone's so weird this morning," she muttered.

With a shrug, she began changing into her swimsuit.

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_ **

Konata knocked on Misao's door. There was the sound of muffled footsteps approaching from behind it before it swung open, nearly smacking Konata's face in the process. She'd made fun of Miyuki for walking into a door the previous day, but she now took it all back—a door bop was a perfectly reasonable danger in this house, even if you weren't as adorably clumsy as Miyuki.

"Heyo?" Misao's eyes darted around for less than a second before going low enough to notice Konata. Her expression immediately soured. "Oh, it's only—hey what're you—"

Konata slipped into the room, closing the door behind her.

"What's the big idea, just bargin' in like that?"

Konata ignored her, grabbing Misao's hand and dragging her to the far side of the room. She put a finger on Misao's lips to quiet her down before she could make any complaints. This earned a growl and glare, but otherwise Misao complied. The reaction was surprisingly cute. Konata didn't comment on it, though. She had other things on her mind.

"I have a problem and I didn't know who else to turn to," Konata said in a low voice.

Misao frowned, raising an eyebrow. "So ya turned ta _me?"_

"You're the only one with experience with my particular problem. _Plus,_ you've got a room all to yourself."

Misao crossed her arms, still staring skeptically. "What's yer problem, then?"

Konata took a deep breath. She hadn't spent much time planning this discussion with Misao, but she knew from the getgo that the very beginning part would be a pain. Even still, she braced herself for the worst.

"I think I have a crush on Kagami."

There was a pause, Misao staring at her with an expression of complete lack of understanding. Konata was just about to elaborate when Misao finally responded.

"Yeah, sounds about right," she said with a shrug.

Konata blinked. "Wait, that's it? That's all you have to say? No arguing or complaining about me implying you have a crush on Kagami or anything like that?"

Misao rolled her eyes. "Look, Chibi. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not stupid."

Konata shook her head, raising a hand. "Wai-wai-wait, I never said anything like that."

This earned a dismissive wave. "Doesn't matter. Point is, I got eyes. And _you."_ Misao punctuated that word by poking Konata's chest. "You always look like yer havin' the time'ah yer life when arguin' with Hiiragi. It's not hard ta guess yer into her."

Konata snorted. "Well, by that logic, it's not hard to guess _you're_ into Kagami too."

Misao delivered a sharp chop to Konata's forehead.

"Ow—Hey!"

"You asked fer it," Misao snapped. "I already told ya, I'm not into her like that."

"Then why did you agree to every word I said about her last night?" This earned a growl and bared fang. Konata met Misao's hostile look with a defiant one. "Don't even try to deny it, Misakichi—there were witnesses. You teased Kagami almost as much as I did. I could tell you enjoyed it too."

Misao crossed her arms with a petulant pout. "So what if I did?"

 _"So?_ If I'm into Kagami, then so are _you."_ Konata punctuated that last word with a poke to Misao's chest, just like what Misao did to her mere minutes prior. "Which is part of the reason why you're the only one who can help me." 

Misao growled again, still glaring. It really seemed like she wasn't going to budge on the topic. In a way, that made her a bit like Kagami—stubborn and prideful. Unfortunately, Konata only just now discovered this side of Misao. It would've been way more endearing if it weren't so inconvenient.

Konata sighed and stepped back, averting her gaze. "So… what, are we just gonna keep arguing?" she asked, raising her arms slightly to the side. "I wasn't kidding when I said I needed help. This sorta thing is a little out of my wheelhouse"

Misao snorted. "And ya think it's in mine?" She shifted her weight, tapping her foot restlessly. "Mmm. Aight, so, let's pretend yer right, and I _am_ into Kagami. How's that supposed ta help ya?"

Konata pursed her lips. That was a good question—one that she didn't have a prepared answer for. And _that_ was both a wince-worthy realization, and a sigh-worthy one. She _really_ should have thought this through more than she did…

"I figured you'd have some advice for me or something? You know, since you've got experience?"

"Eh? Experience with _what,_ exactly? Bein' in love with someone and not doin' anythin' about it?"

Misao's voice was starting to take on a dry tone that had a startling resemblance to Kagami's. Even more startling was how Misao had a point there too—one that Konata didn't have a response to. She might just have to concede defeat at this point.

Now _that_ was a depressing thought. She'd just lost an argument with _Misao_ of all people. If it were Miyuki, or Kagami, or hell, even Patricia, it would have been fine. But the girl who had, less than ten minutes ago, admitted to being not the sharpest tool in the shed? Talk about an unpleasant plot twist.

Konata's soured mood must have shown on her face because Misao stepped forward and put a surprisingly gentle hand atop her head.

"Hey, no need to be all mopey," Misao said with a chuckle. "Just cuz' I can't help doesn't mean I don't know someone who can."

Konata blinked, looking up at Misao. She received a lopsided smile, complete with a dimple on her cheek, a fang snagged on her lip, and amber eyes seeming to glow with determination.

"Aight, c'mon."

Without waiting for Konata to reply, Misao took her hand and dragged her out of the room. They took three paces before stopping in front of the door directly across the hall from Misao's. After two aggressive knocks, Misao turned the doorknob. Konata raised a brow when she heard surprised yelps and scrambling footsteps.

"Oi, Aniki, we need… some… advice…"

Konata's brows rose even higher as she peeked around Misao, through the doorway. A snaggletoothed brunet who looked like a shorter-haired Misao sat on the bed, and a ginger with a large forehead leaned on the wall at the other end of the room. What were their names again? Oh right, Masaru and Ayano. In any case, they were both conspicuously red-faced, messy-haired, and intensely staring at what Konata could only assume was an incredibly interesting patch of wall.

It wasn't hard to guess what the two had been doing before she and Misao barged in.

Konata smirked. "I think we just interrupted something, Misakichi."

"No," Masaru snapped, voice somewhat hoarse. "Shut up, ya weren't interuptin' nothin'."

Misao snorted, crossing her arms. "Ya sure about that, Aniki? Ya look a lil' outta breath—you and Ayano both."

 _"Eep,"_ Ayano squeaked, leaning harder into the wall, as if she were trying to melt into it.

Masaru's face twitched slightly, but otherwise maintained the same uncomfortably-casual expression he was forcing. "What do you want, Misao?" he enunciated clearly, though his voice sounded strained from suppressed emotion—probably annoyance.

The two had been entertainingly awkward enough that Konata would have normally pushed their buttons a little bit more before continuing, but she was feeling merciful today. She let Misao take the lead, closing the door behind her.

Instead of teasing Masaru and Ayano, Misao proceeded to haphazardly narrate the events leading up to them barging into Masaru's room, complete with sound effects and wild gestures. Despite her obvious enthusiasm, all she seemed to be doing was confusing the two—the blank expressions they wore were quite telling.

Thankfully, Masaru didn't let it last too long. He cut Misao off while she was in the middle of pantomiming the act of strangling someone.

"Hate ta break it to ya, sis, but yer not makin' a lick of sense," Masaru said with decisive sharpness. "In fact, ya haven't made sense since ya barged in here. Now, I'mma ask again and I expect a straight answer. Why're ya here?"

Misao pouted. At a glance, she seemed miffed that she didn't get to continue her rant. That was understandable, though. Konata could empathize with the satisfaction of going on a long rant. She would have let Misao continue if it were just the two of them and it was about a different topic. But as it stood, Ayano seemed like she had only been feigning interest, while Masaru eye's had glossed over after the first few sentences. Plus, Misao's rant was about Konata indirectly accusing her of being in love with Kagami—an accusation that was both nowhere in the realm of rant-worthy _and_ something that Konata had all but proven true mere minutes ago.

In any case, Konata took over for Misao and summarized the events in just a few short sentences.

"I went to Misao because I think I might be into Kagami—the girl with twin tails. I figured Misao could give me some advice since it seemed like she was into Kagami too. She got insulted that I so much as implied she was into Kagami, so we argued for a bit. Then I won and she told me you could help me better than she could."

Misao waved her hands in a chopping motion in front of Konata. "Wai-wai-wait, _you_ didn't _win."_

Konata rolled her eyes. "I totally did. You set aside the argument to tell me you—"

"No, _you_ put it aside. You sighed and got all mopey and—"

 _"Girls,"_ Masaru cut in before the two could argue any further. "I literally do not care who won. Now, _you."_ He turned to Konata. "Ya wanted advice?"

Konata blinked and nodded.

"And I'mma take a wild guess and say ya haven't figured out what you wanna do yet. Yer prolly not even sure if yer really into Hiiragi at all."

Konata nodded again. Masaru was surprisingly perceptive. Konata hadn't even mentioned that part yet.

"Aight, then. Just go tell 'em how ya feel. Figure it out from there."

Konata frowned. She wouldn't have gone to someone else for advice if she knew all she'd get was a recommendation to just wing it. She would have just gone straight to Kagami's room and confessed right then and there if she was confident in her ability to _just wing it._ And for all she knew, her confession would have been met with an actual punch to the face or something—not that she wasn't perfectly willing to take a punch from Kagami, of course. It was just that she was looking for advice that gave her a more concrete outcome, like the options her dating sims gave her during major decisions. Not… this…

Masaru probably intuited Konata's low opinion on his advice as he crossed his arms and raised a brow. "Well, what else ya gonna do, midget?" he asked with a biting edge to his voice. "Just gonna wallow in self-doubt like a whiny baby?"

 _"What?_ No."

He pouted, putting a hand on his chest dramatically. "Gonna cry in yer lil' corner because yer scared things might change?"

Konata grit her teeth. "That's not what I—"

"Boo-hoo, I'd rather rot in a stagnant pool of my own tears than—"

As Masaru pantomimed the act of rubbing tears from his eyes, Ayano crossed the room and pulled Masaru into a choke hold, cutting off his sentence.

"Please forgive his sharp tongue," Ayano said. The kind, gentle quality of her voice and expression contrasted rather strikingly to the merciless lock she was subjecting Masaru to. "He means well, but he has a very warped view of how people help one another."

Konata's growing frustration with the older Kusakabe's words had quickly drained as she watched him helplessly surrender to Ayano's grapple. As satisfying as it was to see someone who was so mean for no reason be justly punished, seeing him in actual pain looked more than a little disconcerting. Konata genuinely felt comparable relief to Masaru's once he tapped out and Ayano released him.

Masaru collapsed into the bed, panting and coughing. He recovered after a minute.

"So," Konata muttered awkwardly once Masaru was sat back up. "What, do I just confess to her?"

Masaru looked at her for a moment and sighed. "Are ya confident that yer in love with her?"

Konata pursed her lips. "Didn't we go over this earlier?"

"Just answer the damn question."

"I _think_ I like her. I'm not sure if I am or not—it's why I'm asking for advice in the first place."

He shrugged. "Then tell her that. Tell her ya don't know if ya really like her but ya think ya do. Simple as that."

"But—"

Masaru groaned, palming his face in exasperation. "It's literally just bein' honest with her. How is this so hard ta understand?"

Before Konata could retort, Misao took Konata's shoulder and began dragging her out of the room. "Aight, thanks for the advice, Aniki. Sorry fer taking up yer time." She closed the door behind them, turning to glare at Konata. "Ya _sure_ yer into her? Cuz' it's startin' ta seem like yer just into makin' people mad."

Konata refrained from pointing out again that she's not sure. Instead, she crossed her arms. "Honestly, Misakichi, I don't even know anymore. I need some time to think…"

"Well, I leave fer town in an hour. If ya wanna talk again, I'll be around." Misao made for the door to her room across the hall.

Konata raised a brow. "You didn't seem thrilled about helping me earlier. What's changed?"

Misao looked back and gave a distant smile. "Let's just say that managing ta get an earful from my brother without clocking him in the face is worthy of respect."

Konata smiled back wryly. "What if I _did_ punch him?"

Misao's expression became a wide grin. "Woulda been worth _even more_ respect." She turned away, disappearing into her room. As the door closed, Konata just about caught a wink that Misao had shot her way.

Konata blinked as she stared blankly into space, standing in an empty hallway. The previous topic was still swirling in her mind like an incoherent mess. She needed time to process it, but she was _not_ in the mood to do it yet.

She sighed and made for the stairs. Thinking could come later. Right now, all she wanted was to jump into the pool. What was it that Miyuki had said? Clothes she was willing to get wet in? Well, her T-shirt was more than enough to keep her covered. She just needed to ditch the pants since denim felt terrible on the skin once it was wet.

With a huff, Konata rushed downstairs to drown her confusion with a nice refreshing swim.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Beta read by asianpotter1, PastelRaccoon, and Trilicon_
> 
> A new chapter _probably_ won't come next week—like I said, I don't think it's sustainable. Part of the reason for that is because every chapter needs over 5k words to deliver its content. The reason for _that_ is because I insist that the characters must have long, protracted, meandering conversations that take up 1k words all on their own. Granted, that's par for the course with my writing, but still.
> 
> Anyways!
> 
> The Hiiragi-twincest probably turned off a lot of people. If it's because of the incest itself, please do not subject yourself to this story any further—there will be more of it in future chapters. If it's the implementation that you have a problem with, I'd be happy to listen to feedback. Keep in mind that I have no interest in tackling the actual social stigma and implications surrounding incest. My summary describes this story as a trashy fun time. I'd like to further emphasize the _trashy_ part.
> 
> If you've read _Coinciding Moments,_ my other Lucky Star fic, you'll remember Masaru Kusakabe, asshole older brother to Misao.
> 
> Misao is said to have a brother in the manga but he is never shown. Similarly, Ayano is said to have a boyfriend. There are _some_ implications in the manga that Ayano is dating Misao's brother, but it's never outright stated. I made Masaru as a joke in CM, but he grew into his own character as it progressed, eventually leading to me unironically inserting him into my other Lucky Star fics. His appearance here is a tad more mean-spirited than in CM, but significantly more upfront about trying to help (and doing it badly). I did my best to use Ayano to temper him.
> 
> For those of whom this chapter is their first encounter with Masaru, I hope he made a strong enough impression for his first speaking role. Feel free to tell me what you think of him.
> 
> Other stray thoughts:
> 
> _Tsukasa's first not-flashback line is a reference to a song I'm sure most people reading this would know about._
> 
> _I put a voice actor joke in one of Miyuki's few lines of dialogue this chapter. I wonder if anyone will get it._
> 
> _I deliberately did not sign-post this, but the two girls talking about blood stains during breakfast are Patty and Hiyori. Did anyone guess that correctly?_
> 
> _If it wasn't totally obvious, Masaru and Ayano were making out before Konata and Misao barged into the room._
> 
> **Next chapter: The Second Day, Round 2 Lower Bracket**


	4. The Second Day, Round 2 Lower Bracket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Misao goes exploring and Kagami continues to have alarming gay thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the delay. TW: Incest mention, dubiously-consensual kissing, and mild netorare/cuckolding (or a hitherto unexplained open relationship, depending on how you choose to interpret things). Enjoy if you can!

_"What's it like to kiss a girl?"_

_"You mean, like, compared to a boy?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"That was my first kiss. I can't really compa—"_

"Hey, Kagami, what about this one?"

Sat on her bed, Kagami blinked and looked up from the light novel she was failing to read. A half-naked Tsukasa held up a large white T-shirt in front of her. Kagami pursed her lips as she examined the article of clothing. "Hmm. The fabric's a little thin but it should still be fine."

Tsukasa frowned at the shirt as she held it at arm's length. "I don't know. Won't my underwear show through it?"

Kagami snorted, returning her attention to her book. "You're in a private retreat in the mountains, almost everyone who's liable to see you is a girl, and you're on first name terms with all of them. I don't think it'll be that big a deal if your bra shows through a wet T-shirt."

"I know, but…" Tsukasa hummed thoughtfully. "Actually… What if I just don't wear anything?"

Once again, Kagami's gaze snapped away from her book. "Wait, let's not get ahead of ourselves. All that stuff I said just now was _not_ an endorsement for you to go skinny dipping."

This earned a blank stare. "What?"

"Skinny dipping? You know, swimming naked?"

Tsukasa's face flushed, eyes wide as she averted her gaze. "O-oh… Uh…" She glanced back at Kagami for an instant before turning completely away, pressing the shirt against her cheeks. "I know I said _nothing,_ but I didn't mean _that_ kind of nothing," she whimpered, voice muffled by the shirt.

Kagami felt a wry smile tug at her lips. "Then what _did_ you mean by it? No underwear?"

"I meant: _what if I just go bra and panties?_ They're basically like a bikini, aren't they?"

Kagami tilted her head to the side. "I mean… they're not really built for it, but _I guess_ you could use them like a swimsuit? I don't think they'd be very comfortable when wet, though."

Tsukasa sighed. "This is hard," she whined, walking to Kagami's bed and falling face first into the mattress. "I wish I brought an actual swimsuit."

"Well, Miyuki forgot to tell us about it. You couldn't have known." Kagami gave Tsukasa a pat on the head. "Best just make do with the cards you were dealt."

"I really wanna go swimming with everyone, though…"

Kagami giggled. "Just wear the shirt, Tsukasa. It'll be fine."

Tsukasa whimpered again. She pushed herself off the bed into a kneeling position, still holding the now-somewhat-wrinkly shirt in her hands. "I guess," she muttered in surrender, finally putting on the shirt. "What are _you_ gonna wear, sis?"

Kagami shrugged. "I figured what I'm already wearing is fine. What you were wearing earlier would have been fine too, by the way."

"But the fabric would get really heavy once it gets wet."

Kagami raised a brow. "And is _that_ why you picked that shirt?" She received a nod. "And I'm guessing it's also why you don't plan to wear shorts or anything else." Another nod. Kagami sighed and shrugged again. "Fair enough, I suppose."

With Tsukasa finally resolved on what she would wear, the two left the room and made their way down to the pool.

Most of the others were already in the water by the time they arrived. Miyuki was sitting on the edge of the pool, only her legs submerged. Next to her was Minami, giving Yutaka swimming lessons, the two holding hands as the shorter girl kicked at the water. Honoka and Yukari were a short distance away, reclined on lawn chairs under a large umbrella.

"Let's go swim, sis!" Tsukasa cheered, rushing toward the water before Kagami could stop her.

"Wait, we should put on sun… block… first…"

Kagami's voice died in her throat as Konata emerged from the pool, climbing back onto land to talk to Tsukasa.

It was strange. She had seen Konata in a swimsuit in the past. She had also seen her naked during shared baths as well. She really shouldn't have felt anything from seeing Konata in a wet T-shirt. And yet, the way it clung to her body rang alarm bells inside Kagami's mind for some reason. It certainly didn't help that Konata wasn't wearing a bra.

Konata noticed Kagami's gaze and stared back with an unreadable expression. It wasn't the same as her usual deadpan face. The slight furrowing of her brow and twitching of her lips gave off an uncharacteristic air of vulnerability.

The alarm bells rang louder as Kagami felt her face heat up.

With a shake of her head, she shelved her messy thoughts and approached—there would be time to examine them later. "Sunblock, Tsukasa," she said sternly.

Tsukasa scratched her head and giggled. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that. Be right back, Konata."

Kagami brought them to the chairs near the two adults, applying sunblock on the exposed skin of Tsukasa's arms and legs. "You're _sure_ you don't wanna wear some shorts or whatever?" she asked.

Tsukasa nodded. "You sure _you_ don't want to wear some shorts. It'd be lighter than those pants."

"I'm sure." Kagami booped Tsukasa's nose with the sunblock bottle's nozzle, leaving a smear of lotion on her face. "Finish up and get in there. I'll be with you in a bit."

After a moment of rubbing the sunblock all over her face, Tsukasa stood and made for the water, turning back for only a second to smile at Kagami. Kagami smiled back and began rubbing sunblock on her own arms, feet, and face.

Minutes later, Kagami noticed Miyuki approaching from the other side of the pool. A combination of her vibrant pink hair, flower pattern bikini, and beautifully pale skin made it easy to spot her in the distance. Though, upon closer inspection, her expression looked uncharacteristically tense.

"You look different without your glasses," Kagami remarked when Miyuki took a seat next to her. "Not better or worse. Just… different."

Miyuki winced. "I'll take your word for it. Unfortunately, my eyesight is poor enough that I wouldn't be able to tell, even if you put a mirror in front of me. I can barely see without them." She squinted at the pool for a moment before angling her head towards Kagami. "I take it that you're not in the mood for swimming?"

Kagami shrugged. "Swimming's fine. Being molested, though?"

As if to punctuate Kagami's statement, they heard a shriek and frantic splashing as Konata and Patricia lifted Hiyori over their heads. Another loud splash followed as they dropped Hiyori back into the water and waded toward Tsukasa, their next target.

Kagami smiled wryly. "I'd rather _not_ be manhandled, thank you very much."

Miyuki chuckled. "It's all in good fun. Nothing wrong with a little roughhousing now and again."

"Oh? Then why are you completely dry from the waist up?"

Miyuki's cheeks flushed as she averted her eyes. "That is, _ahem,_ completely unrelated. I simply dislike having water enter my eyes."

Kagami snorted. "Yeah, sure. I'll buy that."

A shriek rang across the pool as Patricia dove under water and lifted Tsukasa onto her shoulders. With the deliberately rocking motions of Patricia's strides, the only thing Tsukasa could do was curl up tightly, hanging onto Patricia's head as if she was an extremely uncooperative life preserver.

"You're sure you wouldn't have fun playing in the water with them?" Miyuki asked again.

Kagami pulled up her knees to her chest. "Maybe I would," she replied distantly, still staring at the chaos in the middle of the pool.

Konata jumped up and grabbed onto Tsukasa from behind, sending all three of them toppling into the water. Near the shallower end of the pool, Minami paused Yutaka's swimming lessons as they both watched the three screaming girls struggle to stand back up.

Kagami sighed. "At the same time, I think I'll take a dip later, once they're all tuckered out—though knowing Konata, she'll still be right as rain to annoy me, hours later," she added in a mutter.

Miyuki giggled, but did not disagree.

They sat in silence for a moment, appreciating the sunlight reflecting off the rippling water, the fresh mountain air carried by the summer breeze, and the laughs and cries of their friends enjoying themselves.

"Miyuki," Yukari called some time later. "Be a dear and fetch us a bottle of wine from the fridge."

Next to her, Honoka slapped her arm. "Yukari, it's not even noon yet. Control yourself."

"I want a drink, though…"

"Yes, but _alcohol?_ And this early?"

Miyuki stood, smiling at the two adults. "May I suggest a glass of lemonade instead?"

"Please and thank you," Honoka answered before Yukari could voice a reply. The older Takara pouted, muttering something about Honoka being a meanie. Honoka turned her nose and shot back with a remark of her own, though Kagami couldn't hear it clearly.

As the two began to bicker, Miyuki bowed at them slightly and started back towards the house, nudging Kagami's shoulder as she passed by. Raising a brow, Kagami stood and followed.

"Need some help?" Kagami asked as she re-entered the house with Miyuki, closing the sliding door behind her.

"Not necessarily," Miyuki replied, approaching the fridge. As she looked inside, she gestured towards the metal basket filled with dishes hanging over the sink. "I'm perfectly capable of procuring drinks on my own, but I imagine you'd appreciate having something to do other than sit at the poolside alone while my parents argue."

Kagami snorted, moving a set of plastic cups from the basket to the counter. "That's a bit presumptuous, but you're not wrong. Thanks for being so thoughtful—though I don't know what to feel about making lemonade _for_ the people we're supposedly trying to avoid _by_ making lemonade."

Miyuki giggled as she pulled out a pitcher of cold water and set it down next to the cups. "It'll be for everyone else as well. Best to just look at the positives." Her amused smile turned into a frown. "I'm forgetting something," she muttered.

"Lemon?" Kagami suggested. "Right now, this is still just water."

"Ah. Thank you." Miyuki reached for a box at the top of the fridge that contained several sachets of powdered juice mix. She spent a moment squinting at the labels before selecting the one that said _lemon,_ and returning the box where she found it.

Kagami sat at the kitchen table, resting her chin on her palm as she watched Miyuki stir the mix into the water. The sound of the metal stirrer hitting the glass walls of the pitcher were just distracting enough that Kagami couldn't fall completely into a daze.

Which was a good thing, all things considered. Whenever left to simply wander, her mind seemed to keep flashing back to the conversation she'd had with Tsukasa before dawn that morning. While she certainly still agreed with her decision to kiss her sister if the right situation ever arose, the fact that she didn't feel more conflicted about it left her concerned about the implications. Similarly, the strange feelings she had felt about Tsukasa and Miyuki kissing the previous night had continued to feel no less strange hours later. Compounding on them were her unresolvedfeelings about seeing Konata in a wet T-shirt a few minutes prior, coupled with the inexplicably seductive look on Konata's face when their eyes met. She could deal with the other things, but _that_ had been entirely too much to handle so early into the morning.

With all of those things considered, the distraction of Miyuki's stirring was—

"Why are you staring into space?"

Kagami blinked as her eyes refocused.

"Er… Uh…"

And then she winced. The loud sounds of stirring had completely failed to keep her mind from wandering, apparently.

"It's nothing. I'm just… _distracted,_ I guess…"

Miyuki tilted her head slightly as she lifted the stirrer out of the pitcher. "Oh? Distracted by what?"

Kagami internally listed all the things currently occupying her mind—all three of them—and concluded that they were too much to unpack right now. So, rather than going on a long, meandering explanation about things she only barely understood herself, she instead went with a rather crude, "Uh… A lot of things…?"

She winced even harder upon realizing how stupid she sounded just now.

Miyuki stared, tilting her head to the other side. "I see…"

Kagami pursed her lips, tensely awaiting the inevitable follow up questions. She hadn't been concise, articulate, or any other smart-sounding adjective, but at the very least, she had technically told the truth—which _had_ to count for something, right?

But when no follow up came, she could only blink in confusion.

"That's it? _'I see'?"_

Miyuki averted her eyes, shifting her weight. "I mean… I imagine it's something personal, so I let it be. It seemed like the most tactful thing to do…"

Kagami blinked again, gawking at the light blush and the timid, awkward smile that had formed on Miyuki's face. It was like she was embarrassed about being tactful or something—which was simultaneously the most wholesome thing Kagami ever witnessed, _and_ the most baffling. If it weren't such a Miyuki-like sentiment, she probably would have suffered whiplash.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "For some reason, I expected you to make fun of me, even though that's not your style…"

The smile on Miyuki's face disappeared as she raised a brow. "I don't quite follow."

Kagami scratched her head. "Er… Well… Konata or Misao or my older sisters would normally jump on this opportunity to tease me. I guess I'm just so used to it that I've sorta come to expect it."

"Oh, I understood _that,"_ Miyuki said with a dismissive hand wave. "What I didn't understand was why you said it wasn't my style."

Kagami fidgeted. "Because… uh… it isn't…?"

Miyuki pressed the issue. "How so? What constitutes my style?"

"I don't know how to explain…"

"Please try."

"I—"

Kagami cut herself off with a sharp intake of breath.

She detected a strange intensity peeking through the cracks in Miyuki's voice, giving it a texture that Kagami had never heard before—especially not from someone as docile and polite as Miyuki.

But then again, Kagami had only ever seen Miyuki be passive. She would explain scientific concepts and spout obscure trivia when prompted, but would otherwise not speak unless spoken to. And whenever she did speak, there was always a sense that she wasn't invested in what she was saying—which was fair, given how inane most of their lunch break conversation topics were.

That lack of investment was not what Kagami sensed right now, though—quite the opposite, in fact. Hidden underneath a veneer of polite curiosity was what seemed to be a vested interest in Kagami's opinion of her.

And Kagami wasn't sure how to feel about that.

She rubbed her eyes, groaning as she put yet another item on her list of things that would keep her up at night thinking about. As if her miserable pile of unresolved feelings wasn't large enough already. She'd have shelved the topic right then and there if it weren't for the fact that Miyuki was still waiting for a reply.

"Look, Miyuki, I really am serious about not knowing how to explain it. All I know is that you wouldn't have made fun of me, regardless of whether what I said was personal or not."

Miyuki regarded this for a moment. "So… this is less an informed assumption and more… intuition?"

Kagami shrugged. "Pretty much."

"I suppose that's fair," Miyuki conceded with a tired sigh.

There was a moment of silence as Kagami felt the air become easier to breathe. It was as if tension was draining out of the room in a measurable way. Or perhaps the inexplicable intensity that Miyuki kept hidden was simply buried deeper. Kagami didn't care, either way.

"In any case," Miyuki said, breaking the silence. "Whatever it is that's bothering you, they're your troubles to bear and I won't pry. Just know that I'd be willing to lend an ear if you ever feel like opening up."

A small, wry smile found its way onto Kagami's face. Just like that, Miyuki was somehow back to the Miyuki that Kagami was used to. Tactful, nice, er… smart… other things… Wow, Kagami really didn't know Miyuki as much as she thought she did, huh? Just her luck. More food for thought to stack onto her already precariously full plate.

"Th-thanks, Miyuki… I…" Kagami pursed her lips for a moment as she thought on how to respond. "I appreciate the offer," she eventually said. She pulled back the _I guess_ that she nearly appended to that last sentiment.

"Additionally, if I may offer one other thing?"

"Hmm?" Kagami looked up and raised a brow.

"Just a word of advice." Miyuki stepped forward and handed Kagami the pitcher. "If you truly wish to distract yourself from what's troubling you, it would be much more effective if you were actually having fun, instead of simply sitting on the sidelines."

With that, Miyuki left the kitchen, Kagami following closely behind as she stewed on Miyuki's words.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Miyuki was right. She was prone to sudden bouts of introspection and had far too much time on her hands. She needed something to do. Something to focus on. Preferably, something that did not remind her of the things troubling her. Unfortunately, the pool-time fun that Miyuki was implicitly encouraging was _not_ that something. Not when both Miyuki and Tsukasa still made her think about the previous night's kiss. Not when seeing a braless Konata in a wet T-shirt made her short circuit for some reason. Not when there was blood in the water and Hiyori was floating belly-down like some sort of corpse—what on earth even happened to cause that, anyway? But that was getting off topic. Bottom line, if she wanted a distraction, it had to come from somewhere else—and since she didn't have the temperament to make her own fun, _someone_ else.

Looks like she'd be joining Misao's trip to the town after all…

Kagami sighed again as she set the pitcher on the table next to the two adults. Once Miyuki finished handing them both a cup each, Kagami pulled her aside.

"Thanks for talking to me, Miyuki," Kagami muttered. "I think I'm gonna take your advice… Although, maybe not to the letter…"

Miyuki smiled warmly. "What I want is for you to enjoy yourself, Kagami. That's all I ask."

Kagami pursed her lips and nodded. "If anyone asks, tell them I decided to group with Misao for a while. And thanks again." 

She received a nod back. "Will do. And you're most very welcome, Kagami. Have fun."

Kagami re-entered the house and made her way to Misao's room. Hopefully, her snaggletoothed friend hadn't left yet.

* * *

**_Later…_ **

Misao looked up at the beams of light poking through the leafy canopy, casting patches of light on the winding concrete road before her. A warm breeze gave the branches a gentle sway, making the shadows dance in turn. She took a moment to appreciate them. A few paces of walking later, shadowy trees gave way to a view overlooking the small rural town she and her friends were heading towards, which she also took a moment to appreciate as well.

She had always loved the outdoors. Mountains, plains, rivers, beaches—really, she'd take any of them over the bustling boredom of a city. Of course, that wasn't to say she didn't enjoy what cities offered—having a bajillion stores, restaurants, and arcades within walking distance of each other was really convenient. But there was just something about nature's fresh air and open space that made her feel so alive—more alive than the smoky shadows of a glass and concrete skyline ever could.

Sadly, her brother didn't seem to share her love of rural Japan.

Masaru walked some distance behind her, eyes trained on the ground. His slouched posture, pocketed hands, and grumpy frown made it clear he was bored out of his mind. Well, at least he hadn't complained yet—even though Misao could tell he wanted to.

In complete contrast to him, Ayano looked positively glowing, as if Masaru's grumpiness gave her boundless amusement. Misao had to suppress the urge to tease them.

"What's gotten _you_ all smiley all of a sudden?"

At the sound of Kagami's dry remark, Misao reigned in her expression. "Nothin'," she said, turning to the twin-tailed girl with a dismissive wave. "Just remembered somethin' funny."

Kagami raised a brow. "Is that so?" With the roll of her eyes, she turned away, towards the town in the distance.

Eventually, the winding road reached the foot of the mountain, the forest of trees that lined the side of the road now replaced with loosely spaced houses with well-maintained lawns and shrubbery. Even with their lax pace, the trek down into town had lasted only ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops—a far cry from the forty minutes it had taken them the previous day.

Then again, they were going downhill.

"If only going uphill were this easy," Kagami grumbled, as if she had read Misao's mind. She looked back the way they came and groaned. "I'm not gonna enjoy climbing back up there."

Misao followed Kagami's gaze up the mountain, her eyebrows rising when she noticed the conspicuous white box of concrete in what was an otherwise completely green landscape. "Cool. We can see Takara's house from here," she said with a grin.

Kagami sighed. "They did _not_ need to build that place so far up."

"That's the price ta pay fer privacy," Masaru muttered as he and Ayano walked past them. "I personally think it's worth it. If only there weren't so many people stayin' there."

"You could always leave," Misao suggested, letting out a snicker. "Ya got money, don'tcha?"

Masaru shot her a smug smile, patting his back pocket. "That's the plan, dear sister. Ideally, I spend as little time inside that house as possible."

Next to Misao, Kagami laughed humorlessly. "Hah. That's awfully ungrateful for someone who only got third-hand tickets to this little vacation."

Masaru visibly tensed, forcing Misao to hold back a snicker.

All throughout childhood, her brother had toned down his attitude whenever they hung out. She could never figure out the reason why. It wasn't until early last year did she find out that Masaru was actually intimidated by Kagami.

On one hand, Kagami was plenty intimidating—which was fair enough. On the other hand, she was also two years younger and a full head shorter than him—which was _hilarious._ And to make it even better, he had also been taking judo lessons with Ayano and Akane for the past three years. The fact that he was _still_ intimidated by Kagami even now was downright hysterical.

"Grateful, huh…?" Masaru coughed into his fist, looking away. "I suppose I _should_ be grateful fer this opportunity ta be stranded in the middle of nowhere with thirteen girls, only five'a whom I know."

Kagami raised a brow but did not reply.

Ayano beamed and seemed to tighten her hold around Masaru's arm, causing the elder Kusakabe to relax slightly. "You'll have to forgive his rudeness," she said gently. "He wasn't particularly happy to lose his internet connection for five days."

Kagami smirked. "But at least he's got a gaggle of girls to keep him company."

"If I wanted a harem, I wouldn't be dating Ayano," he growled. "I wouldn't have joined this trip if it wasn't for her either."

Ayano elbowed him, still smiling. "You agreed to it, fair and square, love. Casting me in a bad light like this is hurting my feelings."

"I'm sure your heart bleeds. Would you like a bandaid? Maybe a kiss and a lolipop to make the boo-boo go away?"

"I wouldn't say no to those, but I know you can do better than that. Try again."

"Aaand… there they go…" Misao sighed. She knew from experience that they'd be bantering for the next several minutes. Thankfully, she had gotten good at tuning them out.

Funnily enough, Misao used to think that it was _Ayano_ that made Masaru hold back his biting remarks. She later found out that Ayano actually _enjoyed_ Masaru's sharp tongue—and not just in a _'she liked kissing him'_ kind of way. No. She lapped up the venom he spat from his lips like a tasty snack. Apparently, lobbing insults and sarcastic quips at each other was some bizarre form of flirting for them. _That_ particular revelation had rocked Misao's view of Ayano in ways that still left her reeling to this day.

Of course Misao was still glad that Ayano was enjoying her relationship with him. She wasn't about to begrudge her best friend's happiness—even if it meant acknowledging Masaru's involvement in it.

Wait, did that mean her brother, by extension, had a better lovelife than anyone else in their friend group? Oh god, it did, didn't it!?

She winced and suppressed a shudder.

At least things wouldn't stay that way for long. Tsukasa had been shooting that Takara girl heart-eyes during breakfast and the midget seemed convinced she was in love with Kagami when she and Misao talked earlier. If there was ever an ideal place and time for them to find a romantic partner, their week at the Takara summer home would be it. She just hoped they wouldn't skirt around the topic for too long. Watching Ayano and Masaru's will-they-won't-they phase had been the peak of agony—easily the worst part of her middle school years. She did _not_ have the patience to go through that again. The first time was enough, thank you very much.

Misao shook her head and put the topic out of mind, instead turning her attention to Kagami. "So, got any places in particular ya wanna see?"

Kagami shrugged. "Not really. Didn't seem like there's anything to do here when we passed through yesterday."

"That's why we're exploring today, ain't it?"

Another shrug. "Fair enough."

The four of them continued wandering the town, eyeing the numerous signs and strange looking alleys along the road. Misao led them towards anything that piqued her interest.

One building looked to be a carpentry shop, with a collection of handcrafted furniture on display in their storefront. The sign advertising their business was a chiseled-wood sculpture of a bear sitting on a three-legged stool for some reason.

"Ya think Takara bought her furniture from this store?" Misao wondered, running her hand over a wooden table that looked uncannily similar to the one they had in the kitchen.

"Probably," Kagami replied, tapping one of the chairs displayed alongside the table—also similar to the ones in the Takara summer home. "I imagine it'd be cheaper than buying from somewhere else and then shipping it all here—not that they'd need to worry about finances," she added in a mutter.

They window shopped a little more but did not buy anything—they weren't exactly in the market for furniture in the first place. They moved on before long.

The community center was probably the biggest building in town. It had a fenced off basketball court out back, a karaoke machine with its own dedicated room, and much to everyone's surprise, they also had a few arcade cabinets tucked into the corner of their recreational area.

"Huh?" Masaru sat at one of them and experimented with the buttons. "These are obscure old-ass games but the sticks are all smooth, the buttons still click, and the screens look brand new. This is obviously a restoration—and a damn good one at that."

Misao turned to Kagami. "Ya thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Kagami raised a brow. "That Konata would love this place? Absolutely."

"Wanna be nice or what? Cuz I'm perfectly willin' ta pretend we never found this place."

"Let's wait on deciding. Maybe if she's less annoying tonight."

Misao snorted. "Tough chance'a that."

They stayed there for half an hour, Masaru insisting on having another go every time he hit a game over. He ended up spending more money on arcade tokens than he bargained for that day. They left the community center at least two thousand yen poorer.

Hidden away in a side street stood a flower shop, stacked floor to ceiling with potted plants. Shelves of them spilled out into the street. Seemingly abandoned cars and pickup trucks parked nearby were filled with greenery. A wooden sign crudely duct taped onto a lamp post was covered in vines.

"I kinda don't wanna be here," Kagami muttered. "This place is giving me the creeps."

Masaru let out a dry chuckle as he sniffed one of the vases with s flower arrangement. "Is it the plants or the fact that nobody's here?"

"A little of both," Kagami admitted, peeking through the windows. "Normally I'd praise anyone who puts in this much effort into something, but the number of plants they're maintaining here is just absurd."

"Must have a lotta time on their hands," Masaru said as he and Ayano examined the rack of flower crowns a little ways inside the building. "Two hundred yen? That's a damn good deal."

"Rather cheap for what I assume is a gift for me," Ayano said flatly. Then she smiled. "Though I imagine they'll look quite regal if _you_ were to wear them."

"My head's a lil' small fer this kinda crown," Masaru retorted, snatching a flower crown and pulling out his wallet. "I bet they'll fit better on _your_ big head, though." With a snicker, he made for the empty cashier's desk.

"Anyone hear muffled screaming?" Misao asked from near the back of the shop.

Everyone stopped and listened for a moment. They could now more clearly hear a woman's squeaks and moans through the far wall, accompanied by a rhythmic thump. Misao felt her face heat up slightly as she realized what was happening.

"I guess that explains why no one's here," Masaru muttered, putting his payment onto the counter. "Let's not disturb them. They seem ta be enjoyin' themselves."

The four jumped when the muffled voice yelled, louder and clearer than they've yet heard. "I'm so close!" The rhythmic thumping increased in tempo.

"Aight, time ta go," Masaru said quickly, tossing the flower crown onto Ayano's head and pushing her towards the exit.

In complete agreement with the sentiment, Misao took Kagami's hand and followed her brother out the door. The twin-tailed girl did not complain as Misao dragged her along. If her completely flushed face and incomprehensible muttering was anything to go on, she probably fell into some mental rabbit hole of embarrassment that Misao would need to dig her out of.

Well, she could do that later, once they'd put some distance between themselves and the flower shop they’d just left.

* * *

**_Later…_ **

Ayano leaned back on the bench, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow and tugging the front of her blouse. 

It had been fairly cloudy and windy for most of the day so far. It was somewhat surprising how suddenly the wind had subsided and the sky had become cloudless. In a matter of minutes, a pleasant day had become one where the sun bore down on them like a burning ray of death. And due to her own lack of foresight, she had forgotten to bring both an umbrella and a bottle of water.

Served her right, though. She should never have trusted the weather to be nice.

Thankfully, Misao chose to postpone their continued exploration of whatever odds and ends the town might offer in favor of finding shelter—a wise decision, in Ayano's opinion. That's how she and Kagami found themselves sitting at a nice picnic table under the shade of a tree while the Kusakabe siblings bought lunch.

Ayano continued fanning herself, unable to take her mind off of the unrelenting heat and the continuous drone of crying cicadas. Kagami seemed similarly dazed, leaned over the table with her chin on her palms and a blank stare on her face. The twin-tailed girl remained motionless, like an uncannily realistic statue.

That observation pushed an edge of worry past Ayano's discomfort. Come to think of it, Kagami had seemed a little off all morning—even _before_ their little incident at the flower shop. She hid it well enough that Misao and Masaru didn't seem to notice, but there were signs as early as breakfast that she was distracted by something—though by _what,_ Ayano couldn't begin to guess.

So she _didn't_ guess.

"What's on your mind?" Ayano asked, causing Kagami to blink and jump in her seat.

"What?"

Ayano gave her a slight smile. "You seem distracted."

Kagami pursed her lips, her gaze drifting past Ayano as she took a deep breath. "Well," she began with a sigh. "Yeah… a little bit."

"So what's distracting you?"

Kagami pursed her lips tighter, a wry smile adorning her face. "A lot of things," she replied.

Ayano raised a brow. "Would you mind sharing?"

Kagami met Ayano's gaze for only an instant before averting her eyes once more. "Maybe," she said slowly. "Depends on how you'll react."

Ayano's brows rose higher. This was an uncharacteristic level of timidness—more expected of Tsukasa than Kagami. Still, anything that could make Kagami act this out of character was an intriguing prospect. "How would I know how I'll react before you tell me?"

Kagami opened her mouth to speak before closing it. She sat up straight, cupping her chin in her hand. "You do have a point, I guess," she reluctantly conceded after a moment of contemplation. "Now let me think about how to explain this…"

Ayano tugged her blouse again as she gave Kagami another moment to gather her thoughts. She was doubtful that it would be all that complicated. Whatever the issue was, Kagami had a way of making it much harder for herself than it needed to be. Ayano was sure that, once it was out there, they could easily come up with a—

"What's it like to kiss a boy?"

Ayano blinked. "Come again?"

Kagami fidgeted in her seat, refusing to look up from her hands laid flat on the table. "You… you've kissed Masaru, right…? What's it like…?"

Ayano blinked once more. She didn't know what she expected but it certainly wasn't _this._ How was she supposed to react? What could she possibly say that would adequately answer that question?

Ayano scratched her cheek. "I'm not sure how to explain…"

Another wry smile tugged at Kagami's lips. "Try anyway."

"I—"

Ayano cut herself off with a sharp intake of breath. Part of her wondered whether Kagami was joking, though she quickly wrote off that possibility after a moment of thought. Kagami trended towards straightforward jokes with a simple set up and punchline. Mind games weren't her style. That meant that Kagami was being serious.

Which begged the question,

"What brought this on?"

Kagami winced at those words, pulling her arms closer to her chest. Ayano could already sense Kagami gearing up for a full retreat from the situation. "Never mind. It was a stupid question anywa—"

Ayano gave the table in front of Kagami a sharp tap, causing the twin-tailed girl to flinch. _"Hey!_ None of that," she said sternly. "I'm perfectly willing to answer. I just need a little bit more context. Please work with me here."

Kagami met Ayano's eyes, quivering slightly in what Ayano could only assume was fear—it certainly couldn't be because she was cold. Ayano responded to the tense look with another small smile. Kagami regarded this smile for several long seconds before letting out a sigh and relaxing. "Yeah, I guess I _was_ being a little vague…"

Ayano snorted. Only a little? Perhaps that was an understatement—though it ultimately mattered little. She had given enough clues for Ayano to at least make an educated guess.

"Let me see if I have this right," Ayano began, leaning forward onto the table, steepling her hands in front of her face. "You've been off since breakfast this morning but were fine when we talked last night. That means whatever brought this on had happened between me heading off to bed, and all of us reconvening the next morning. Whatever it was also involved kissing in some way. Given the way you phrased your question—and the fact that there were only girls in your group last night—I can only assume that a girl kissed another girl. That sound right?"

Kagami fidgeted before giving a reluctant nod.

Ayano suppressed a smirk. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you kissed Miss Izumi."

Kagami immediately flushed red like a blooming rose garden, no doubt conjuring the moment in her head. Of course, she denied this ever happening, as she was wont to do—though it was surprisingly _not_ an explosive denial as Ayano expected. It was, instead, uncharacteristically timid, which suggested some level of reluctant honesty.

"It was actually… Miyuki… who kissed Tsukasa…"

Ayano nodded thoughtfully, idly adjusting the flower crown on her head. "That's…"

 _Surprising,_ she wanted to say. She could have sworn it was Konata, given the conversation they had earlier that morning about how she was supposedly in love with Kagami. It just made too much sense for that to not be the case.

At the same time, what Kagami said _also_ made sense. During breakfast, Tsukasa always seemed to light up with a thousand watt smile every time she and Miyuki interacted. And given the fact that Kagami and Tsukasa were twins and slept in the same room, they probably talked about it with each other, which explained why Kagami seemed so distracted.

That still left some questions, though.

"So… I believe you," Ayano said slowly. "And I get where you're coming from… but there are still some things about this that need clarification."

Kagami frowned. "Like what?"

"Like what has you so fixated on it. Are you jealous? Does the fact that two girls kissed confuse you? Are you just scared because things are different and you don't like it?"

"Um…" Kagami pulled her legs up to her chest and curled up into a tight ball. Even with her face buried in her arms, the redness of her ears was a dead giveaway as to what she was feeling. "Y-yes…?" she whimpered.

All of the above, then, Ayano concluded to herself. She suppressed the urge to chuckle, instead standing and leaning forward to pat Kagami on the head.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Kagami," she said, gently rubbing Kagami's lilac hair.

"You're one to talk," Kagami snapped, voice muffled by her hands. "You've had a boyfriend for three years."

Ayano snorted, removing her hand from Kagami's head. "And do you think I was as comfortable with him now as when we first started? We had our fair share of awkwardness too, you know."

Kagami whimpered again.

With the slow shake of her head, Ayano sat back down. "Just relax, Kagami. As cute as this little display might be, it's completely unnecessary. You'll receive no judgement from me."

A moment passed where neither of them spoke, the only sound that filled the silence being the ever present cry of cicadas.

"You better hurry and decide whether you want to talk about this or not. It won't be long before Masaru and Misao come back with lunch."

Kagami let out an exasperated groan at the mention of the Kusakabe siblings' return. She looked up from her hands, shooting Ayano a dry look before sighing.

"Earlier this morning, I asked Tsukasa what it's like to kiss a girl. She told me she doesn't have anything to compare to since she's only ever kissed Miyuki once."

Ayano smiled ruefully as she averted her eyes. "I don't think I can offer you much better. I've only ever kissed Masaru."

Another sigh. "Figured as much."

"I think I know a way to fix that, though." Ayano frowned. "Buuuut… you might not like it.

Kagami raised a brow. "I'm open to ideas."

Ayano gave Kagami a conspiratorial look and beckoned her closer with a curl of an index finger. Kagami complied, leaning forward and meeting Ayano halfway across the table. No doubt she expected Ayano to whisper something in her ear.

That was not what Ayano had in mind.

Kagami seized up when their lips met, only relaxing into the kiss when Ayano gently caressed her cheek. When Ayano broke contact, their separation was slow and drawn out—only further drawn out by Kagami following Ayano's retreating lips in the hope that they'd meet again. In the span of a few seconds, Ayano saw Kagami's face transition from that of blissful satisfaction, confused longing, and finally, intense panic.

"Why did you do that!?" Kagami hissed, recoiling as if she were physically struck.

Ayano looked away, twirling strands of her hair around her fingers. "A few reasons, I guess," she muttered. "It's mostly so I can get information to help you—"

"And you decided to do that by kissing me!?"

"—But also because it'd make Masaru and Misao jealous," Ayano continued, not missing a beat. She could almost hear the record scratch noise play in Kagami's mind.

"Wa-wa-wait, what?"

Ayano shot her a mischievous smile. "They've considered you the most beautiful girl they've known since we entered middle school. I just took what I assume is your first kiss, so I'll enjoy holding it over them a little."

"But that's…! I…! You…! We—!"

"I'd like to interrupt your freak out to remind you that we _are_ on a time limit."

Kagami shut her mouth and eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly and shakily. She repeated this breathing exercise a few times, each successive exhale becoming calmer and steadier than the last. After the last repetition, Kagami opened her eyes, giving Ayano a serious look.

"You took my first kiss without permission."

Ayano grimaced. Kagami had spoken in a neutral tone, though Ayano could still feel the bite of an icy edge to those words. Pangs of guilt stabbed at her from the inside.

"I did," she admitted quietly. "I'm sorry."

Kagami pursed her lips, turning her head away. "I don't hate you for this," she said carefully. "But we _will_ have words about this in the future."

Ayano nodded.

"I'm glad we understand each other. Now…" Kagami closed her eyes and took another deep breath. When she next opened her eyes, her face relaxed somewhat. "Tell me how it felt."

Ayano gave her a small smile. "Other than the fact that you don't have pronounced canines sticking out of your lips? Physically indistinguishable from Masaru—which I sort of expected going into it."

Kagami nodded thoughtfully. "Huh… That's… Huh…"

"It's really not that complicated, Kagami. Other than fangs and piercings that might get in the way, there's very little about the physicality of kissing that changes when kissing one person over another—at least when it comes to closed-mouth kissing. Things change when you start adding tongue, but I don't think either of us would be willing to go that far with each other right now."

"You seem unusually casual about all this," Kagami noted warily. "This doesn't exactly seem like a common topic of conversation."

Ayano shrugged. "You're not the first person to come to me about this sort of thing. Akane and Misao have asked for advice before."

This earned raised eyebrows, but no further comment.

"In any case, what you _feel_ and _think_ about who you're kissing matters more than the whats, wheres, and hows. I kissed you the same way I kissed Masaru—and like I said, you're physically indistinguishable from each other—but at the same time, I didn't feel the same way about it. Kissing _you_ didn't have the same sense of familiarity and comfort that I get when kissing _him._ It's like how kissing me didn't excite you as much as the thought of kissing Miss Izumi did."

Upon using Konata as an example, Kagami's face once again lit up red, causing Ayano to chuckle.

"In a similar vein, the thought of kissing your sister would probably turn you off."

Ayano had expected Kagami's flushed face to pale. When it didn't, she backpedaled in alarm. "Actually, let's not open that can of worms," she said quickly. "What about the thought of kissing Masaru, then?"

This gave Kagami pause. After a moment's contemplation, Kagami shrugged. "Not sure," she muttered. "I know I feel _something_ but I can't pin down what it is."

Ayano looked past Kagami and smirked. "Well, there's certainly a way to find out." She stood and waved at the two tanned brunettes trudging along the sidewalk towards them. "Masaru, I have a favor to ask of you!"

Kagami turned around and hissed an expletive that Ayano was surprised she would use. "Ayano, I'm begging you. Do _not_ bring—"

Kagami didn't get to finish her plea as the Kusakabe siblings walked into earshot, both carrying plastic bags filled with take-out boxes.

"I'm gone fer fifteen minutes and the first thing ya say ta me is that ya need a favor? No hello? No how are ya? No thanks for the food ya bought us? You're breakin' my heart, Ayano."

"I may have broken it in other ways too," Ayano mumbled guiltily. "But I'm sure we can glue it back together later. In the meantime, Kagami and I were having a rather delicate discussion just now—which prompted that favor I wanted."

"Save the preamble and spit it out," he said dryly as he and Misao laid their food onto the table.

Ayano shot Kagami a sharp, mischievous smile. "How agreeable would you be to kissing Kagami?"

* * *

**_End of Chapter_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you to picardyThird and Asianpotter1 for beta reading this chapter_
> 
> Once again, I apologise for the delay. At the same time, I regret to inform you that the next chapter probably won't arrive any time soon. Like I said, the rate I was posting new chapters back in February is simply not sustainable for me. I'm sorry.
> 
> In any case, this new chapter was fun to write. Only a rare few Lucky Star fanfics give all three girls from class 3-C a chance to be in the spotlight. I'm glad that this is one of them.
> 
> I've had a few conversations with reviewers and commenters about my characterization of Miyuki. Yes, she's quite different from her canon counterpart in that she's much more mindful of the people around her. While this detracts from much of the comedy involving Miyuki's absentmindedness, it's a trade off I'm willing to make since it makes her relationship with the other characters a little deeper and more involved.
> 
> In that same vein, I also made some changes/additions to Ayano's characterization in the hopes of it achieving a similar effect. In canon—or at least in the anime—Ayano reads as a rather one-note nice-girl who is non-confrontational. In other words, boring. Yes, I know there's also that interpretation where she's a yandere or sadist deep down—which I _do_ plan to play with in this story in some way—but I wanted something a _liiiittle_ more agreeable to the rest of the class. Hopefully it made her more interesting.
> 
> Stray thoughts:
> 
> Kagami is right on the cusp of being a disaster gay if not being one outright. Her gay panic gives me life.
> 
> The town exploration is loosely based on places and events in my own life. Yes, even the flower shop.
> 
> The kiss has me a little worried since I spent so much of the chapter building up Ayano's relationship with Masaru, only to have her "cheat" on him by kissing Kagami. Not entirely sure how well that'll play out for my readers. Hopefully the TW in my opening author notes were enough.
> 
> **Next chapter: The Second Day, Round 2 Upper Bracket**


	5. Party Games Chapter 5: The Second Day, Round 2 Upper Bracket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Patricia and Tsukasa pull a prank on Konata, Miyuki muses on philosophical topics, and Minami experiences profound confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should be my last update for 2020. Shorter one this time. Enjoy if you can!

Konata was lost in thought as she waded through the deep end of the pool, bouncing on the tips of her toes so as to keep her head above the water.

Kagami had followed Miyuki back into the house just a moment ago, thereby preventing Konata from confessing to her, like Masaru had told her she should.

Of course, she wasn't really convinced that just up and saying _"I think I'm in love with you"_ would have panned out all that well. Kagami was the temperamental sort—a nearly universal trait amongst tsundere. Using strong words like _Love_ was likely to earn her a fist to the face, a hasty retreat, or if she was lucky, a flat stare with an equally flat _"what?"_ There was also the chance that Kagami would take it in stride, but the odds of that happening were so infinitesimal that she'd have an easier time grinding for multiple sub-1% legendary drops in the MMO she played.

But even disregarding the confession part, Masaru's advice did have some merit. Talking to Kagami would have probably helped her figure out if she really did have a crush—not to mention how she also just enjoyed their conversations.

Sadly, they hadn't really gotten a moment to interact since breakfast.

An opportunity _had_ presented itself just minutes earlier, when Konata had climbed out of the pool to talk to Tsukasa, but she had been too distracted by the unreadable expression on Kagami's face at the time to really say anything. The thought of striking up a conversation hadn't occurred to her until Kagami was hurriedly pulling Tsukasa aside—and by then, it was already too late.

And in the minutes that followed, Kagami had stayed out of the pool, not providing Konata any further openings. Although, now that she thought about it, it would be more accurate to say Kagami had provided no _easy_ openings.

At that realization, Konata wanted to kick herself a little. She had forgotten an important lesson that she'd learned over the course of her many years of playing dating sims: when romancing a tsundere character, you couldn't just go about your business, stumbling into her flags randomly. That method might have worked for a childhood friend character—or if you were save-scumming—but for tsundere? You needed to actively search for those event flags if you wanted to end up on her route.

Her mistake now was obvious. When Kagami was spending all that time sitting alone at the poolside, Konata should have just walked up to her and started a conversation—like Miyuki did. It would have been such an easy event flag to trigger if she had only realized. But no. Instead, she had just continued horsing around with Patricia, expecting the twin-tailed girl to eventually join in the fun. How careless of her, honestly.

As her train of thought continued on its current path, lamenting the lost opportunity, she felt something grab her legs.

There was a terrifying instant where Konata's face dipped into the water, her sense of balance completely shot as the world tipped over. A panicked fervor surged through her limbs as she prepared to kick, thrash, and flounder just to get her head back above the water.

Then she resurfaced, continuing to rise above the pool, far higher than her short legs could have ever taken her. Her panic quickly subsided.

"That's it, Tsukasa-senpai. Keep a steady grip on her legs."

Konata's awareness returned just as she settled into a stable hold around the head of lilac hair braced against her abdomen. Looking down, she realized that she was sitting on the shoulders of one Tsukasa Hiiragi, still struggling to right her balance. Patricia stood in front of them, giving advice and encouragement.

"I think I could get used to this view," Konata remarked as the girl carrying her continued to wobble. "Though I'm not sure Tsukasa can keep it up for much longer." She helpfully pulled the droopy ends of the girl's drenched yellow ribbon out of her face. "You okay down there?"

"I think I can handle it," Tsukasa said, managing to finally find a stable stance. "You're surprisingly heavy, Kona-chan."

This earned a smug smile and crossed arms. "Do not be fooled by my diminutive stature! The flesh upon my seemingly scrawny frame is actually densely packed muscle!"

Patricia snorted, patting Konata's cheeks patronizingly, the blonde standing tall enough that they were still nearly at eye level despite the shorter girl sitting atop someone else's shoulders. "You say that, but you still ask for my help with opening jars."

She pouted. "So my finger strength isn't that high. Big deal."

"Me and Kagami have trouble opening jars too," Tsukasa said helpfully. "I think it's just something some people have more trouble with than others. I'm just glad people who don't have trouble with it are willing to help out—like my mom, or dad, or one of my older sisters."

Konata and Patricia shared an endeared look.

"Oh, bless your kind, considerate soul, Tsukasa," Konata breathed airily, gently patting the head of lilac hair below her.

Tsukasa seemed struck. "Wait, what? Why? Did I say something weird?"

"No, nothing weird. Just something that made our hearts flutter with a light and soft feeling."

 _"Fuwa fuwa~"_ Patricia playfully intoned in agreement.

There was a pause as Tsukasa seemed to process these words. "Alrighty then," she eventually said with an oblivious smile, making Konata and Patricia share another, more curious look. Neither were sure if the younger twin had actually understood what they were getting at or if she just put it out of her mind. Konata personally believed it was a little of both.

Tsukasa swayed precariously. "Hey, carrying you is starting to get a little tiring. Can I put you down now?"

Patricia put a hand on her chest in shock. _"Put her down!?_ But she still has so much to live for!" The two stared at the American blankly. _"Put down,_ in English, is a phrase that can mean—" She cut herself off with a shake of her head and a dismissive hand wave. "You know what? Never mind. Please carry on."

"So yeah, can I put you down, Konata?" Tsukasa continued, not missing a beat.

"Sure thing. Just…" Konata eyed the deep water around them. "Maybe do it in the shallow end of the pool."

Tsukasa nodded and started walking, immediately losing her balance as soon as she took a step forward. Patricia rushed in with arms outstretched to catch the falling girls.

That instant of panic and vertigo that Konata had experienced mere minutes earlier had returned in full force. Despite knowing that she could have just reoriented herself and stood on the tips of her toes to get her head out of the water, her instinctive, automatic response when she broke through the surface was to flail around wildly. It took her a few seconds to overcome that reflex through will and reason alone.

When she finally stilled her uncooperative limbs, she noticed arms wrapping around her, pulling her back to the surface.

"I gotcha!"

Konata gasped, then coughed, inhaling a lungful of air in the same breath as a mouthful of water.

"Easy, girl. You're gonna be _fine,"_ Patricia's voice said with careful calm as she slowly brought them to the edge of the pool, depositing the shorter girl onto the safety of the ledge. "You good? You were thrashing around like you were about to drown. You do know how to swim, right?"

Konata coughed again, still trying to get the last of the water out of her lungs. "Yeah, I know how—" a cough, "—but I've never—" another cough, "—been very good at it. I have a hard time floating."

It took several seconds of straight coughing, but relief eventually came. She hacked the last of the water in her lungs and felt like she could breathe easily again.

"I'm really really sorry," Tsukasa said, face scrunched with concern and regret. "I should've been more careful. I'm so sorry."

A small part of Konata thought Tsukasa's worried face looked adorable, though she also felt a little bit too shaken to really squeal about it like she normally would. Instead, she gave an understated handwave of dismissal. "You don't need to be so upset, Tsukasa," she croaked. "I'm fine. There was no harm done in the end."

"No harm to anything but my swimsuit, at least," Patricia remarked. It was only then that Konata noticed Patricia holding her arms tightly to hide her chest, her bikini top conspicuously missing from her outfit.

"You pulled it off me while you were thrashing," the blonde explained. "I think it's still floating somewhere in the pool."

They turned to scan the water's surface for Patricia's white top, eventually finding the article of clothing a short distance away. Drifting next to it was a spill of red and the belly-down Hiyori, likely having just fainted from a nosebleed after seeing the bikini top. How amusingly cliché.

"Well, that can't be good," Patricia muttered.

"I'm gonna go help," Tsukasa said, swimming towards the seeming-corpse of a girl.

"And I should probably go get my top back too." Patricia turned to Konata. "You gonna be okay?" she asked, her tone somehow both teasing and concerned.

This earned a weak smile and nod. "I said I'll be fine. Go get your top already." Her smile became a smirk. "Unless you plan on staying like that."

Patricia raised her hands in a noncommittal shrug. "I've considered doing some skinny dipping on this trip, but I think it's a bit too early to do that. We should wait for things to escalate first."

Konata grinned wanly at the eyeful of the blonde's chest she'd just received—C-cups indeed. "I look forward to whenever that happens," she said with a chuckle. "Now, hurry up and go! I'm gonna talk to Kagami and Miyuki. I think I just saw them come back out of the house.

Patricia stood straight and gave her a cheeky salute, breasts jiggling proudly, before turning around and swimming towards Hiyori's floating body.

Shaking her head slowly, Konata returned the salute and stood, making her way to where Kagami and Miyuki were talking. "Crazy American," she said to herself with no small amount of endearment. "You'll push this group into your pit of degeneracy yet."

She shook her head again with more vigor, putting it out of her mind. She had a tsundere event flag to trigger and being distracted by whatever craziness Patricia had planned for them would do her no good.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Miyuki watched Kagami re-enter the house, still quietly wondering to herself what could have possibly been on the twin-tailed girl's mind that warranted her completely changing her plans for the day in order to distract herself from her own thoughts. She seemed perfectly fine just a day prior so it had to be incredibly recent, but there was so little of note that happened in the last twenty four hours that Miyuki struggled to come up with anything. There was that relatively tame session of truth or dare, but—

She let out a surprised _"Oh!"_ as the answer finally hit her mid-thought. It was, admittedly, rather obvious in hindsight.

That game of truth or dare the previous night hadn't been particularly wild, but it _had_ resulted in a rather heated outburst from Kagami _and_ Miyuki giving her first kiss to Tsukasa. It was perfectly understandable for Kagami to be distracted by the memory of that night. In fact, it was a miracle that Miyuki wasn't also distracted herself—she _had_ experienced her first kiss, after all.

"Or perhaps I'm just not the type to make a big deal about it?" she wondered with a sigh.

"A big deal about what?"

Miyuki jumped and let out an involuntary yelp when she heard Konata's voice speak up behind her.

"Deep breaths, Miyuki," Konata said soothingly. "It's just me. Relax."

Miyuki suppressed a wince, feeling her face heat up with a blush. She futilely attempted to will it away as she turned to face her friend. "Konata… Good morning. Would you like a drink? Kagami and I made lemonade." She gestured at the pitcher on the table.

"Sure!"

Konata took a seat at the table as Miyuki poured her a cup, repeating her question from earlier after taking a sip.

"So, what were you talking about that you said you don't make a big deal out of?"

Miyuki suppressed another wince as she took a seat as well pouring her own cup. "Well, I was thinking that, while last night was mercifully tame, I _was_ forced into giving my first kiss to Tsukasa. It is a common belief that one's first kiss is an important milestone in their lives, so it would be safe to assume I'd be beside myself thinking about it. That assumption would also be false since I haven't really thought about it at all until I was reminded of the events of last night."

Konata stared and nodded. "So that's what you meant when you said you don't make a big deal of it? Makes sense." She took a sip of her drink. "What reminded you of the events of last night?"

"Hmm… How do I explain it concisely?" Miyuki wondered aloud before taking a slow swig of lemonade, frowning slightly as she realized her mix was much sweeter than she'd like. "Well, something seemed to be bothering Kagami, so I had advised her to stop sitting around and actually do something engaging."

A tilt of the head. "To distract her from whatever was bothering her?"

"Precisely," she confirmed with a nod. "And the logical follow-up to my advice, should Kagami follow it, was to join in your roughhousing in the pool, but that wasn't what she went with. Instead, she decided to head to town with Miss Kusakabe."

Konata took another sip and tapped her fingers on the table, seemingly unamused by what she'd heard—though she could have just as easily been reacting to the taste of the lemonade.

"If we assume that Kagami has a logical reason for choosing Miss Kusakabe's outing over staying at the pool, whatever's bothering her must be related to the pool itself or the people staying in the pool. If it's the latter, half of us here were part of that game…"

She cupped her chin in her hand. "So, you think I'm one of the people who's bothering her?"

"That's very likely."

"Why, though? Because I called her beautiful last night?"

"Possibly. _Or,_ it might be because of that kiss. My and Tsukasa's presences _would_ make it difficult to put that scene out of her mind, after all."

Konata was lost in silent contemplation for a moment before going wide-eyed and snapping her fingers. "Ooh! Wait, I remember Kagami staring at me earlier with a weird look on her face. I couldn't tell if she was horrified or turned on—lots of mixed signals and stuff. Does _that_ clue into anything."

Miyuki hmm'ed-and-hah'ed for a few seconds as she thought about it. Then she noticed Konata's shirt and raised her cup to her mouth, not to drink but to hide her incredulity. Even with her terrible eyesight, it wasn't hard to see how the fabric clinging to Konata's body left little to the imagination. "Perhaps Kagami was scandalized by your, _ahem,_ choice of swimsuit."

This prompted Konata to look down at her wet T-shirt and blink. "I guess she's into flat chests," she muttered, shrugging. "Who knew."

"Or it made her uncomfortable. But regardless of Kagami's reason, I do still have to ask: why are you not wearing a bra?"

Another shrug. "I don't wear them unless I'm going out. I could probably get away with not wearing one even then. Washboard chest, and all. Like, seriously." She made a show of sliding her hand up and down her torso. "I really don't have much here to hide, much less to support."

Miyuki stared for a moment before looking away. "I suppose that's fair."

"And besides, we're all girls here, aren't we? And the only guy is both not here right now and already spoken for."

"All fair points," Miyuki conceded. "As a counterargument, perhaps consider that not everyone would be comfortable with it? Clearly Kagami wasn't."

"Well, she's not here right now either."

A frown. "That's also true," she conceded once more.

"And I haven't seen any of the others complain," Konata continued. "Are _you_ complaining now?"

Miyuki fidgeted before giving the shorter girl another once over, searching her feelings for any discomfort. At most, her current discomfort was more from being put on the spot, as opposed to any real feelings towards Konata's choice of swim wear.

"No, I'm not bothered enough to complain," she admitted, pursing her lips as a thought occurred to her. "But suppose I _did_ complain? What would you have done in this hypothetical scenario?"

Konata seemed struck by this question and nodded thoughtfully, taking a long slow sip of her lemonade.

"Well… I guess if you asked me to wear something else, I wouldn't mind."

Miyuki tilted her head slightly. "To be nitpicky about semantics for a moment," she began, carefully watching Konata's face. "You'd be accommodating if _I_ asked you, yes—which I'm grateful for—but what about if _someone else_ were to ask that of you? Like Kagami? Or Miss Kusakabe? Would you have still complied?"

Konata seemed at a loss for words, staring down at her empty cup with an unreadable expression—a rare occurrence to the shorter girl. Miyuki picked up the pitcher to refill their cups.

"For those two specifically, I probably wouldn't," Konata eventually answered, enunciating every word with a slow deliberateness that was unusual for her. "At least not immediately," she amended. "I'd probably try to poke and prod them—see how much it really bothers them. If it's really something they can't deal with, then I'll give in and change."

Miyuki took a sip. "And who decides that they really can't deal with it? You? As opposed to the people you're bothering?"

Konata frowned. "You're being awfully pushy today. Was your conversation with Kagami like this as well?"

Miyuki smiled apologetically. "It's rare that we engage in topics that have any real importance. Forgive me if I seem overeager to engage you."

"No no! It's actually pretty refreshing to see you so intense. It's clear you think about these kinds of things a lot more than I do—more than most of us, even. I wouldn't mind talking about more serious topics if it meant seeing more of you like this." Then she gave a sly look, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "And not gonna lie, I think it's kinda hot."

Miyuki chose to ignore the compliment and cleared her throat. _"Ahem,_ In any case, please answer the question Konata."

"Oh yeah. Who decides when they can't deal, right?" Konata pivoted back into topic, not missing a beat. "I mean, short of starting a fight, that's kinda something that the entire friend group has to decide collectively. From what I've seen, a troll out to ruin someone's day will usually get away with being annoying until everyone goes out of their way to make them fix their attitude, or kick them out entirely."

"Are are you the _'troll'_ in this scenario?"

"I _guess?"_ Konata shrugged. "When it comes to friends annoying each other, it gets pretty muddy. Depending on their personalities, sometimes it _has_ to become a fight of some sort—otherwise, nothing gets resolved. And for Kagami and Misakichi? Well, they're both fighters. So am I, for that matter."

Miyuki pursed her lips. "I see…"

"Don't get the wrong idea, though. I _am_ willing to back down if it ever comes to blows. But if it's just talking? I enjoy pushing their buttons, and I can tell they enjoy fighting back just as much—even if they don't say so." She smirked. "Don't ask me how I know that, though. I mostly just follow my gut."

Miyuki regarded Konata, once again struck by how articulate the shorter girl could be when prompted. "You seem unusually knowledgeable of this sort of thing—unusual because I don't remember you mentioning you had many friends. In fact, I only remember the one whom you said wanted to become a mage."

"Oh yeah, him. I wonder what he's up to these days." Konata shook her head. "But you're right. Never had a lot of friends in real life. But online? I've met all sorts of people on chats and message boards."

"I was under the impression that most people online were scammers, hackers, and sex offenders."

A chuckle. "There are a fair share of those, yeah. But to be honest? It's mostly just regular people with regular human experiences."

"And I suppose you base your statements on their experiences?"

"Yeah. Go on any board where people ask for advice and you'll find plenty of posts about all sorts of things. Chances are, you'll find something related to what you're having trouble with. If you don't? You could always just ask for advice yourself."

"I'm wary of taking the advice of anonymous strangers."

Konata rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously you still have to filter out the good advice from the bad. Not everyone on there is some sort of expert."

Miyuki took another sip as she digested those words. "Hmm. I'll have to think more about this. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with this information."

"Keep it in the same box of thoughts you keep your trivia in?" Konata suggested helpfully. "Not like this is info you'll need often."

A thoughtful nod. "Also fair."

"Honoka, why don't we go play with them?"

"You want to wrestle with children half your age?"

"Why not?"

Miyuki suppressed a wince as her parents' conversation reached the table. In complete contrast, Konata snickered mischievously.

"I might want to go back for another swim if those two plan on joining in," the shorter girl said, downing the rest of her lemonade and standing.

Miyuki emptied her own cup and stood as well. "I suppose now would also be a good time to check on Yutaka and Minami. This has been a stimulating conversation, Konata. I hope we may have another one again at some point."

"Right back at you," Konata replied as she walked backwards towards the pool, shooting her finger guns with a chuckle—or at least Miyuki assumed they were finger guns based on the way Konata's blurry form held her hands up.

As Miyuki watched her go, the two adults walked past, the elder Takara saying how she'd be playing with everyone, Honoka saying how she'd be there to reign Yukari in.

"Have fun," Miyuki said to them with an encouraging wave before making her way to the shallow end of the pool, where Yutaka and Minami were having their swimming lesson. They looked to be taking a break, so her timing was rather fortunate.

* * *

**Minutes earlier…**

"Yes. Continue kicking," Minami instructed as she walked backwards and held Yutaka's hands. "Notice how little I'm actually carrying you. That is buoyancy at work."

Yutaka did as she was told, kicking her legs behind her, stopping to rest when they reached the far end of the pool. "I'm having a hard time keeping my head above the water without your help," she said with a weak cough. "Swimming is hard…"

"Would you like to take a break?" Minami asked.

A shake of the head and bright smile. "I think I'll be alright as long as you're here, Minami. Let's go another lap."

Smiling back, Minami led Yutaka by the hand as she swam to the other side of the pool.

It had been a surprise when Yutaka had admitted earlier that morning that she did not know how to swim. She had seemed so eager about the pool when Minami had invited her to the Takara summer home, just a few weeks prior. Had she simply forgotten about it? That would be a rather bemusing oversight, though.

Well, confusion aside, teaching Yutaka how to swim was not a bother for Minami. The basic concept behind the activity was not difficult information to impart. The human body was naturally buoyant, and would float on the water's surface in most circumstances. One need only to kick their legs in order to swim.

That said, Yutaka clearly had trouble floating, which Minami partially attributed to her build. People who were skinnier than average generally required more effort to float. Not substantially more effort, however, so she had faith that Yutaka would be able to overcome her difficulties.

"Hey, Minami," Yutaka asked when they finished another lap. "What was Kagami-senpai like last night?"

"Irritable," the taller girl answered after the briefest of pauses. "Izumi-senpai and Kusakabe-senpai were quite relentless in their teasing, so it was understandable." After another pause, she tilted her head to the side. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" A nervous fidget. "Konata said Kagami-senpai got angry enough to actually try and hurt her…"

Minami tilted her head the other way. "She… nearly did," she began slowly. "But Tsukasa-senpai was able to calm her down before the situation escalated further."

A thoughtful nod. "I see…"

In the relative silence that followed, Yutaka gestured for them to do another lap to the opposite end of the pool. Minami wordlessly complied, accompanying the shorter girl as she swam the watery expanse.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," Yutaka noted with another weak cough. "I still keep trying to breathe at the wrong times, though—especially at the end."

Minami nodded. "It'll become easier with practice. It's only a matter of time now."

"Thanks, Minami. Let's go another—"

Yutaka cut her sentence short, seemingly distracted by something in the corner of her eye. She shifted her attention to the deep end of the pool, Minami following her gaze.

"Is Hiyori alright?"

Minami regarded the question thoughtfully as she watched the limp body of Hiyori Tamura float amidst the red swirls of what was presumably her own blood. Common sense would answer that, no, Hiyori most certainly was _not_ alright. But despite that, Minami did not feel worried in the slightest. In fact, she would go as far as to say Hiyori was probably quite satisfied right now.

 _How odd,_ she thought idly to herself, wondering just what exactly gave her such an impression.

"I'll see to it that she's fine," Minami said, pushing the peculiar sentiment to the back of her mind and swimming towards Hiyori.

She reached the unconscious girl just as a fretful looking Tsukasa arrived. A topless Patricia followed shortly behind, snatching the missing half of her bikini from the water's surface. Minami quickly pieced together what must have happened, but decided not to comment, instead gesturing for Patricia and Tsukasa to help drag Hiyori back to dry land.

Once they were all out of the pool, Minami realized that Hiyori was, in fact, _not_ unconscious—which was several levels more baffling than what Minami had initially assumed, especially given how things have transpired. Hiyori, having just experienced a nosebleed from seeing a topless Patricia, had decided to perform a dead-man's float long enough for people to assume she was unconscious and pull her ashore. The logic of her actions did not add up, and Minami was at a loss for words about this whole ordeal.

So instead, she pulled up the thought she had set aside mere minutes ago, asking Hiyori with steady and clear enunciation, "Would it be accurate to assume you feel satisfied?"

Hiyori blinked up at Minami, her expression unreadable. A moment later, she turned to Patricia, reaching out with a hand to brush her fingers over the blonde's nipple, blinking again when said blonde didn't react violently. "Yes," she croaked weakly. "I'd say I'm quite satisfied right about now."

With that, Hiyori bled from her nose again and passed out, genuinely losing consciousness this time.

Minami, Patricia, and Tsukasa shared confused glances.

"I'm not entirely sure how to react to that," Patricia remarked wryly. Minami said nothing but nodded in agreement.

"Will she be alright?" Tsukasa asked, eyes darting back and forth between Hiyori's limp form and the other two kneeling next to her. "She didn't drown, did she?"

"Relax, Tsukasa-senpai," Patricia said, putting a reassuring hand on Tsukasa's shoulder. "Look at how smoothly her chest rises and falls. She's breathing just fine."

Tsukasa looked down at Hiyori once more. She still seemed unconvinced but she did not voice her worries any further.

"Hiyori's gonna give herself a heart attack if she keeps being this high strung," Patricia mused with a wry chuckle. "All this drama just because she saw my tits? As if I wouldn't have shared."

As the blonde put her bikini top back on, Minami couldn't help but mull over what Patricia just said, sensing a mild incongruity between the amused drawl of her voice and her actual words. But the inkling of wrongness that Minami felt was not something she could truly quantify in any meaningful way. Patricia's speech was so deeply colored by her native tongue, American upbringing, and exposure to otaku culture that whatever subtleties she tried to communicate were too difficult to parse. The linguistic gap between Minami's lexicon and Patricia's was simply too wide to cross, and whatever deeper meaning those confusing words once had were simply lost in translation.

Then again, maybe she was overthinking things and Patricia had been completely straightforward when she said she would have shared. It still called into question what "sharing her tits" meant, but it would still be easier to obtain an answer to that question than it would have been to perform a linguistic analysis on Patricia's speech patterns.

Either way, Minami put those thoughts aside and walked back to Yutaka, who was still anxiously awaiting the verdict on the state of Hiyori Tamura. Minami gave her a curt and concise explanation, leaving her in a mystified stupor.

"How… How would sharing your boobies even work?" Yutaka asked slowly, her question matching what Minami herself had wondered when she first heard Patricia say it.

"I do not know," she replied with equal slowness, looking down at her own chest. "I suspect there is a deeper meaning in what she's saying but I cannot imagine what it could be."

Now that Minami thought about it, she experienced similar problems with Konata, though usually to a lesser degree.

"Should we ask Miyuki-senpai? She's headed here now."

Yutaka pointed past Minami, who turned towards where Yutaka was pointing. Sure enough, Miyuki was approaching them, squinting at them for a moment before giving them a friendly wave.

Minami averted her eyes, returning the wave. "I… am not sure this would be a comfortable topic to broach with her," she warned. "But… if you're truly curious…"

Minami did not finish her sentence, but Yutaka seemed to understand what she was trying to get at. Thus, the shorter girl called out to Miyuki as soon as she was in earshot.

"Miyuki-senpai, what does someone mean when they say they'll share their boobies with someone?"

Miyuki stopped in front of them, her mouth slightly agape, clearly still trying to parse Yutaka's words. "Share…boobies…" she parroted helplessly. "I don't quite follow…"

Minami gave her adoptive sister an apologetic smile—or at least as much of one as she could muster—and began recounting what had just transpired.

* * *

**_End of Chapter_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Trillicon and asianpotter1 for beta reading this chapter!
> 
> Really be capping off 2020 nice and easy with this one, huh? This chapter was pretty light on things actually happening, but I'd still say they're all important for things going forward. Next chapter should kick us back into gear.
> 
> Until then!


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